Cure for the Soul
by GirlOfSpring
Summary: Previously called 'Sweet Moves', now turned into a story: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. Nallen, might get some Densi.
1. Chapter 1: Sweet Moves

**Title: **Sweet Moves  
**By: **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing**: Nell/Callen  
**Disclaimer: **The story is mine, the idea is mine, but the show, the characters and the music I refer to is all owned by their respective owners. And I don't own Doctor Who.  
**Note: **So, if I am going to be honest this is the first time ever that I post something on this site. This is also the first time that I wrote something narrative this long in English, which isn't my first language. If there are any mistakes in here, I apologize in advance. I don't have a beta so this hasn't been checked by anyone. If you do find mistakes or if you have some remarks on grammar or something else, please let me know. It's the only way I could improve my writing.  
**Note²: **The first song Nell listens to is Umbrella by The Baseballs, which is a cover of the song from Rihanna. If you don't know them, check them out, they are great. They cover popular songs in a more rockabilly style. The second song is called Just One Dance by Caro Emerald, which once again also is an amazing song.

" I mean, after all, how awesome would it be if you could travel through time? I would love to go somewhere in the past, somewhere important, and have a firsthand experience of how life was like. Or better yet, the future!"

"Hmhm"

"I mean, have you ever thought about what the future would be like. If you look at how much the world has changed over the last 60 years. Cell phones, internet, television.. Take-out!"

"Hmhm"

"Maybe in the future, you won't have to open the door for a delivery guy, but they will have invented some kind of machine where you can just type in what you would like to eat, and in a few minutes it would materialize, or something!"

"Like a food-jukebox."

"Exactly! And the guns won't use bullets anymore, but some kind of awesome laser you can adjust in strength. Can you imagine that? I mean, it would mean that after a shootout between the guys and some terrorists, there would actually be terrorists left to prosecute."

"Hmhm"

Nell was concentrating on the bright screen in front of here, not entirely listening to Eric's constant talking. Sometimes the tech honestly didn't know when to shut it. Her fingers flew over the keyboard while she pulled up one of the cell phone numbers she had been tracking for the last hours for Hetty. There hadn't been any alerts, but she wanted to check to be sure. No new calls made, so she minimized the screen again before pulling up a folder with pictures of a car wreck and started organising them in the correct location.

"You're not listening, are you?"

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Eric turning away from his own screen while he looked at her. She blinked once before she looked up from the bright images in front of her for the first time in a couple of minutes.

"You were talking about how there won't be any phone booths left in the future?" she tried, with the decency to look just a tad guilty about the fact that she wasn't listening. Her tech-partner just shook his head.

"Close, but no. I was saying that the Doctor has his TARDIS, which just looks like a police box and that maybe, when they ever invent a time machine, they will inspired by this story from the past a build their time machines in the shape of phone booths or something similar that wouldn't track to much attention when left somewhere while the time traveller in question leaves it to explore the past"

For a few seconds, Nell just stared at Eric without saying a word.

"That's what you were saying? Don't you think that a phone booth wouldn't be completely normal in say Pompeii in the year 79 AD?"

"Ah! But then, people would be too preoccupied to notice something out of the ordinary, you know.. Running from an erupting volcano and everything?"

Shaking her head, Nell smiled when she heard his counter argument. In a way, he was right, but still. Time travel was something abstract, something that according to here was something that would probably never be achieved by mankind. When she was younger, she had tried to wrap her head around the logic that would bring forth time travel and how something like this could influence a world like theirs. There were simply too many inconsistencies to find a way, at least for her, too make sense of it. And then there were still all the television shows, movies and books that introduced this topic, always varying in small details but never in a way that she could actually think that it could make sense.

"Have you ever thought about this? We live now, in 2012, what we call our present. But if, let's say in the year 2365 they manage to figure out how to travel in time, that's in our future. But for the people in 2356 it is the present, and for them we live in the past."

Her eyes had drifted back to her screen and she had started typing again while she spoke. But this time she didn't get a reply that in a strange way tried to strip her words from any logic. Nell looked up again, only to find a pair of confused, green eyes staring at her.

"What?"

He blinked a few times behind his glasses before shaking his head.

"Never mind, time-travel-grinch"

She laughed and shook her head, causing her auburn hair to fall momentarily before her eyes. With a swift move of her fingers, she swept it back. In the meantime, Eric had got up from his chair and taken out his earset that allowed him to stay in contact with the agents in the field at all time. Nell kept watching while he arched his back and she could almost hear a soft pop when he rolled his shoulders to loosen up a bit.

"You heading home?"

The blond tech nodded and turned around to smile at her.

"Yeah, it's getting late and my dinner isn't going to jump out of the fridge and cook itself" he joked. Nell nodded in agreement and, for a moment, put up her hand in a smile wave.

"See you tomorrow then. Enjoy your dinner" She still had some more work to do before she could finish up and leave. Eric nodded, said a last goodbye and disappeared through the automatic doors. Nell turned back to her computer and started typing again, silently humming to herself. She opened a new file and started writing the report she had been putting off for a few days now. She couldn't procrastinate for ever.

Without actually consciously noticing, she started moving her head in small movements to the song she was humming and even rolling her chair a few centimetres to the side in sync with the moves. This kept happening until she got a bit too excited and the chair maid a half turn when she pushed again, causing the screen the disappear from her view. She froze before a mischievous grin appeared on her face and she quickly stood. Without making a sound, she left the room to have a look in the general building to see if she was alone. The desks downstairs, normally occupied by bantering agents, were abandoned and it seemed that even Hetty had left the building. Actually, it seemed that there was really nobody else. Nell grinned and sneaked downstairs to the lockers, where she quickly took her pink iPod before returning to the computers she had just left. She found a cable, plugged in her source for music in the million-dollar equipment, chose one of her playlists and pressed play. It took a second, but then the machinery picked up the feed and the song she had picked started playing loudly in the room through the high-quality sound system.

Nell put down her iPod and, half dancing to the rockabilly tune, returned to her chair to get back to work.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~  
**

Special Agent G Callen was sitting at his desk, staring at the documents in front of him. Hetty had returned his report on the latest case they had worked on because of some mistakes he made and he was ordered to correct them before going home, or else. He didn't want to think about the or else. Whatever his tired brain would come up with for the friendly threat, it would never be close to the real thing. Hetty was as unpredictable as they get.

With a sigh he picked up his pen again and for the fourth time, reread the paragraph he had been trying to grasp for the last few minutes.

"You still here?"

Callen looked up to see the male tech walking down the stairs, a hand going through his hair. He didn't wear his earset and there was a relaxed way in which he jumped down, skipping the last steps. He looked ready to go home. In response, Callen shrugged.

"Yeah, I have some work to finish before going home. See you tomorrow."

Eric passed the desk, pointing two fingers in a move that could have been a salute.

"See you."

And with that, Callen was alone again. For another second, he stared into thin air, before shaking his head and getting up from the chair. Maybe if he went for a short walk through the building, he would feel better. And on the way back he would get himself a cup of tea and then finish the work.

He pushed his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans and left the spacious room. He did a quick walk past the small shooting range and checked the storage locker where some idiot had left the lights on. He mumbled something under his breath while turning it off and closing the door, checking it once to be sure it was securely closed again. After this, he finished his small tour and quickly made himself a cup of strong, black tea and then taking the cup back with him to the desk.

Time to get this over with.

Sitting in the chair, he stretched once before taking the cup in his left hand so he could sip the brew easily while holding the pen in his right hand. He felt a bit more awake now, and he finally noticed one of the mistakes Hetty had been talking about. Shaking his head, he scratched the line and marked it, so he could find it when he would rework the file on his computer. He was about to take a new sip of his tea, when the blissful silence he had been enjoying for the last minute was aggressively disturbed by loud music, coming from upstairs. As he was just in the process of bringing the cup to his lips for another sip, he spilled his tea over the file he had been working on. Cursing, he jumped up from the chair. Damn, now was the file ruined. Well, he was going to print a new one, but still.

He put the now half-empty cup down on the desk and looked up to the second floor, where the music was coming from. A slight frown appeared on his forehead when he could finally make out the voice of the singer, who kept shouting something about an umbrella.

Eric had left the building, so there could only be one person who was listening to loud music that seemed to have ended up in the wrong century up there. Callen climbed the steps with two at the time and walked to the command centre. The doors slid open for him, revealing a sight he would honest to god never have thought he would see. The room was empty, except for the petite analyst with the spiky, auburn hair. She was standing in front of one of the keyboards, the chair she would have normally been sitting on pushed aside, typing away and staring intently at the screen where a whole list of numbers had appeared. In the rhythm with the song, she tapped her feet on the ground and even sang along.

Callen stood still, watching her. Since she was standing with her back to him, she hadn't noticed him coming in and the sound of the music had muffled any footsteps that could have given him away. The song came to an end and there was a silence for one second, before a new song started playing. The style had changed and in the back of his head a thought came up that she must have put some songs together to listen to. Whereas the first song had had a very happy sound to it, this song was a bit more jazzy and he wouldn't be surprised to hear it in a dimly lit bar with a beautiful women in low-cut dresses and men in expensive suits.

To his biggest surprise though, he saw how Nell started swaying to the music and he found his eyes glued to her small posture as her hips moved from one side to another in tone to the music. He couldn't look away to complete the image, for a moment Nell lifted her hands from the keyboard and with her whole body moved to the seductive rhythm.

His mouth went dry and before he could stop himself, he imagined her dressed in something a bit more revealing. Nell always had a very decent choice of clothing, never showing a lot of leg and arms and shoulders always fully covered, something that only now seemed so obvious to him.

Before he could make clear he was standing there, she had turned around in one of her movements. When she saw him standing there, she froze.

He was pretty sure she was blushing.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Humming to one of her favourite songs, Nell started swaying to the sound of the music. She had been wondering about the sound systems in here for quite a while now and finally she could try them with her music. If Hetty would find out, she would probably have a few things to say, but for now she would just enjoy this. She had been working all day long and she needed something light and fun to listen to while finishing up. She had never been much of a person for a lot of silence, at home also always listening to music.

Actually, she wasn't so sure about Hetty's rules concerning music. She knew that food and drinks were strictly prohibited anywhere near the very expensive equipment, but music couldn't actually leave crumbs or drops of fluid around so technically, it couldn't do any harm.

One last time, her eyes darted over the screen with code, finding nothing of importance before closing it and opening another one. Hetty had asked her to look into two brothers and find out whatever she could about them, so that was what she was doing.

A window popped open on her screen, saying that the other computer that she had been using to check on any involvement with police or other federal agencies and cross-referencing these with any known names she had come up with up until now. She turned around to go and check on the other screen and froze.

G Callen was standing a few steps away from her, just inside the room. The sliding doors had already closed behind him and she had never heard him coming in. How long had he been standing there? A minute? More? Less? She felt heat rising to her face and was deep down glad that in the room the lighting was always quite bad, in order to optimise the view on the screens. There was a chance that he couldn't see the colour tainting her face.

Neither of them moved as they kept staring at each other. Nell felt the heat retreating, suddenly replaced by another feeling low in her stomach. He was wearing a dark jeans and an equally dark button-up shirt, making her realise exactly how dangerously handsome he actually was.

What stood out were his eyes. They were trained on her, a hot fire burning in their depths.

Slowly the feeling in her stomach spread through her body and she bit the inside of her lip.

"Hey.. Sorry, I thought I was alone in the building.." She reached for her iPod and lowered the volume. In the few seconds of silence, she had felt as if there hadn't been any music at all, until it had rushed back in her thoughts.

She looked at the Senior Agent and saw the corner of his mouth pull up in a small smile.

"Well, I'm still here. Which raises the question, what are you still doing here?" Slowly, his eyebrows rose a bit higher, pointing out the fact that he did think it to be a bit strange that she hadn't gone home yet.

"Hetty", was her honest and simple reply. Callen nodded in understanding.

"Work, huh" She smiled slowly, still not entirely sure about how to behave herself. After all, he had seen her dance.

There was another second of silence before Callen grinned and stepped back to the doors.

"Good, I'll leave you to it then." The doors slid open, but he stood still in the doorway before turning around to take a last look at the analyst. He grinned and with his hand he gestured to the iPod that was now lying abandoned on the desk.

"Interesting music choice, but it's good" He lowered his hand and teasingly winked once, surprising them both.

"And some sweet moves, too"

Then she was left alone in the command centre, the doors separating her from the devilishly handsome agent. She kept staring at the doors, before violently shaking her head once to get him out of her head. She sank back in the chair and slowly started typing again to finish her work and go home, all the while with one thought stuck in her head.

The glint she had seen in his eyes. The hungry fire that had burned straight to her core. She had imagined it. It had just been the effect of the bluish computer screens, that had given his already blue eyes the fierce blaze she had seen for the first time today.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~  
**  
**Thanks for reading. **


	2. Chapter 2: Rain

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own anything except for my own ideas that I have used to write this. And the mistakes I make. **  
Note: **So, I started this with what was supposed to be a oneshot. Now I've decided to make it into a story. I am still figuring stuff out about the site(I never know if the rating is correct and how far I can actually go) and writing in general (Planning? I have never written a complete story and I suck at planning..), so there might be time between updates. I will just do my best to create something that you readers can like and appreciate.

And last but not least, thank you all so much for all the story favorites, alerts and reviews! It is amazing to know that there are people appreciating my writing and I hope that you will like this second chapter as well.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

"And after you dispose of these files, you are free to go Miss Jones"

Hetty was holding a small pile of files stamped 'Confidential' that Nell easily took over while nodding to her boss.

"Ok. I finished doing the background check you asked me to. I'll bring down the file with all the necessary information after I finish this" She smiled one moment to the older woman before turning around and walking to the backroom where she knew she would find the oven.

Humming silently she opened the door, put the files on the metal grid, closed the door again and then pressed the big button that would start the progress of burning the files. She stayed there for a moment, staring into the dark orange flames while they burned away the paper. Through the door she could feel the warmth vibrating on her face and for a moment she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling. Around lunchtime it had started raining and with it had come the familiar cold that came forth when there wasn't enough sun.

Slowly she opened her eyes again, stepping back slightly when the warmth was a bit too much. The destructive orange caught her gaze and for a second she imagined it to be blue. The same light blue that was carried in the eyes of a certain Special Agent, with the icy stare that could change into one of intense fire. A shiver ran down her back and after quickly checking if the file was destroyed, she turned around and all but fled the room. She couldn't let herself think about 'The Look', as she had started calling it.

She found that, once it had come up in some dark corner of her mind, that it would get hard to concentrate on the work she was trying to do because she would be mentally catapulted back to that evening a few nights ago when he had walked in on her listening and dancing – dancing! – to her music in the command centre. And when this happened, all these confusing feelings started soaring through her body. She just couldn't allow that to happen.

Her solution: she ran from it. She threw herself in her work, even if it was difficult to concentrate. And above all, Callen hadn't really said a word to her since, hadn't really done anything actually. Nothing had changed. They were co-workers and once in a while they would end up in the same bar with the rest of the group, but out of these moments they didn't really have any connection. It hadn't meant anything, so now it was up to her to do the same and move past this.

She crossed the bullpen and on her way to the stairs, she quickly looked over to the four desks where the four agents were doing their own load of paperwork. Shaking her head, she climbed the stairs.

Nothing had happened.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

It was raining.

The sky was dark with clouds, making it clear to the inhabitants of Los Angeles, spoiled with sunshine, that they wouldn't be leaving them just yet. At least not until they had soaked them to the point that it would take weeks for them to feel dry again. It wouldn't be long until the rain would be joined by thunder and lighting and the party could get started.

Nell just hoped that the power wouldn't fail as it had done the last time they had this big a storm.

She sighed and shook her head while looking at the sky. She inched just a bit too close to the edge of the overhang, which resulted in a few rogue raindrops falling on her cheeks. She jumped back in surprise. The rain wasn't necessarily cold. It was.. well. It was wet. But that was what it was supposed to be. If rain wasn't wet, something was wrong with the world. But that didn't change the fact that she had a problem at the moment.

With a firm movement, she straightened her jacket while her hazel eyes darted past the small courtyard to the grand gate. Only outside, a few blocks down the street, had she parked her car that morning, in the bright sun and a cloudless sky. It was some crude joke, that now she had to make a run for it through the pouring rain with only her small jacket as protection against the water. And her jacket wasn't even waterproof.

Nell mumbled a few curse words under her breath and looked back to the doors that she had closed behind her. She could go back inside and wait for a while longer, but she had already postponed her leave with an entire hour, in which she had done all the extra work she could think of. It was a quiet day, the first in a long time, so it had been early when she could leave the command centre behind her. Now she almost wanted to go back inside and find something else to do, just to avoid the rain.

It wasn't that she didn't like the rain. In a different situation, she wouldn't have been bothered by the constant downpour and just gone outside, but now she was carrying a bag with her laptop, phone and iPod and all three weren't exactly objects that could survive this kind of weather. Yes, she had her bag, but she didn't entirely trust the fabric to protect these things that were such a big part of her world, at work and at home.

Another few curse words escaped her lips while she once again edged closer to the edge to see if there was somewhere a silver lining to the dark clouds.

No such luck.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen was fiddling.

Callen wasn't exactly the person to fiddle, but today was an exception. At the moment he had one of his pencils swirling between the long fingers of his right hand while with his left hand he tapped a rhythm of a random song. Kensi was sitting at the desk to his right and with every tap that he produced, she seemed to get more annoyed. At the desks across from theirs, Deeks got Sam's attention with a subtle move of his elbow, before nodding to their team leader. The ex-SEAL looked to his partner and slowly his eyebrows rose to an almost impossible level.

But it stayed silent. Until..

"Damnit Callen, stop it!" Slowly, not spooked by the sudden outburst of the only female agent, Callen turned his eyes to the woman sitting next to him. To add force to her words, she had slammed her flat hand on the table, causing one of the messy piles of papers there to slide sideways and starting there slow fall to the ground.

"Ow damn!" she cursed again, but this time directed to the files, that ungraciously had flown in all different directions after hitting the ground.

"See, I keep telling you that you should be a bit more organised with your stuff, because something like this could happen" Deeks commented, a smug glint in his eyes. Kensi merely rolled her eyes before getting up to pick up the pile.

"I like my desk like this. It makes it easier to find the stuff that I need" she mumbled while crouching to get under her desk, where one of the pages seemed to be hiding.

Callen still hadn't said a word and for another second he took in the sight of the paper on the floor, before restarting the song he had been tapping on his desk while making a note in his report.

"I agree with Deeks"

His words were followed by exactly two seconds of silence.

"What?" Kensi asked, an incredulous look in her eyes.

"G?" was the much simpler reaction of his partner, while Sam let his eyes drift between the three other agents.

Deeks just triumphantly pumped his fist in the air.

"Oh yeah! I absolutely am the King of Deskilmania!"

This time the silence was longer while three pairs of eyes turned to the blonde LAPD liaison.

"Too soon?" He asked with an innocent smile. This resulted in a shove from the much bigger agent sitting next to him.

"Even in a thousand years it will still be too soon" He commented. Kensi just stared at him for another second, before grabbing the first the she could get her hands on from her desk and in one smooth move, she hurled it to Deeks. The object happened to be an eraser and it hit him straight on the forehead.

"Hey!"

"Bulls eye!" She shouted. But it wasn't over with this. Deeks grabbed the eraser and threw it back at her, while pushing back his chair so he could go for cover behind his desk. Kensi had by now again dropped the papers she had picked up from the ground and done the same thing. Both Sam and Callen staid in their chairs, following the exchange between the two partners as if it was a tennis match, heads turning left to right and back again, following the now numerous things flying through the air. The eraser had been joined by balls of paper, pens and other random desk objects.

Callen turned his eyes to his partner and shook his head slightly.

"We should find a better nanny" He remarked, smiling. Sam grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I was actually thinking about one of those boarding schools to send them to, so they can learn how to behave. At least when other people are around." This got Deeks' attention and his blond head peaked up from his desk.

"A boarding school?" Leave it to Deeks to get some fantasy by the mentioning of a boarding school. Kensi saw a clear shot and flung her neonlighter to his head, one again hitting him full in the face.

"Well, of course it would be an all-boys school" Callen remarked and he and Sam laughed when they saw the dreamy gleam in Deeks' eyes change into one of pure horror.

"Even if you would be able to do that, you wouldn't" he protested while pulling back his seat so he could sit again. His words were met by silence.

"Guys?" The other three agents just laughed and with that, the War of the Flying Objects was over and the agents got back to their work. Callen went to grab his cup for another sip of godly tea, but found that his cup was empty. He sighed and got up to brew himself some more.

While he was standing in the small area provided to make drinks or have a snack, he heard the voice of their intelligence analyst directed at his co-workers.

"Good night guys, see you on Monday!" Cheery as ever. He smiled slightly and from the corner of his eyes, he glanced sideways to the hallway that lead to the doors. He saw her walk by, seemingly happy to go home. She hadn't noticed him and he just finished pouring the boiling water in his cup when the doors opened and the clear noise of immense rain momentarily filled the bullpen. With his tea he returned to his desk.

"Damn, that is one heave storm" Deeks murmured while glancing to one of the obscured windows. Callen merely nodded in response. Then, without any reason, the image of Nell came up in his mind. She hadn't been dressed for the weather and she didn't have an umbrella. A slight frown appeared on his forehead. Was she just going to walk outside in this weather dressed like that?

Before really registering what he was doing, he had gotten up from his desk again and silently walked to the area which contained all the clothes for the undercover missions. In the corner, there stood an umbrella stand with a couple of differently colored umbrellas. Without thinking about it, he picked one and silently he slid outside to the door. He was already luck that Hetty hadn't noticed him taking it, or he would be in trouble.

Quickly, he followed the path to the door Nell had taking a few moments earlier.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was still looking up at the rain when she heard the doors behind her open. She glanced back and saw Callen walking her way, holding an umbrella in his hand. She didn't say anything while he walked up to her.

"I thought you might need this.." He said slowly, opening the umbrella and holding it above their heads. With a small step, he left the cover she had been standing in for the last few minutes, protected by the umbrella. He looked back and smiled slightly. She found her own lips twisting up in a smile before hoisting her bag a bit higher.

"Yeah, thanks" She followed his example and left the dry floor she had been standing on. She stayed next to him under the umbrella and together they slowly walked to the gates of the small courtyard. Callen smiled slightly and opened the gate before letting her walk through and somehow magically managing to follow her through the opening without actually getting either of them wet, since the umbrella was slightly too big for the opening.

"So, what was it with the music a few days ago?" She saw him glance sideways and blushed slightly while she kept walking.

"Well.. I thought that I was all alone in the building, to my defense. And it had been a long day. I like listening to music when I get home, it relaxes me." She smiled slightly before looking up to his face.

"Don't you ever listen to music?" He was silent for a moment and she didn't push him to answer the question. Suddenly she felt the soft pressure of his hand on the small of her back when he steered her a bit more to the left so she wouldn't end up stepping into a big pool. She hadn't really been paying attention to where she was placing her feet. The blush on her face that had faded for a moment, came back full force and she looked down to avoid any other incidents. He seemed to notice the awkward tension and immediately the warm pressure disappeared. Neither of them mentioned it.

"I don't own an iPod, I don't own any CDs and I don't own a stereo. The only moment on the day that I listen to music, is when I am in the car. Otherwise, not really" Nell finally looked up to study the face of the older man. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes trained forwards to their destination. He only listened to music in his car? She couldn't imagine living like that. Music was important to her. She couldn't really explain how, but music could always make her feel better.

"But is there some kind of music you prefer?" Callen merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I have never really thought about it. Although I kind of liked the music you were listening to" And that was all that he would reveal about himself. Still, Nell was surprised at this new information. It allowed her to add some detail to the image she had of the mysterious Callen. And she still felt the small pull of embarrassment with the memory, but somehow also a bit surprised he had liked the music. It wasn't really the standard music people in Los Angeles listened to at the moment.

Standing next to her car, she pulled out her keys and opened the door so she could put her bag in the car. She noticed that Callen had come a bit closer, holding the umbrella in a way that no rain would end up in the car and that she would stay dry. It also meant that when she turned away, she stood face to face with his chest. Her breath hitched and she looked up, warm hazel meeting cold blue.

"Thank you, again, for this.." She said softly, not entirely sure about her voice if she would speak up a bit more. He didn't move directly, just shrugged once.

"No problem" Then he moved back, allowing her to get behind the wheel. He stood next to the car while she started the engine and rolled down her window. The umbrella was still making sure now rain would end up on her and she looked up, smiling slightly. Somehow, she felt shy. As if she was a teenager again, one of the normal girls in school and one of the hottest guys around had paid some attention to her.

Callen lent down a bit and she caught a hint of his smell; dark and musky, mixed with the fresh small of rain.

"We wouldn't want our top intelligence analyst to be sick for a week" He remarked, before slightly gesturing with his hand to the road.

"Have a nice weekend, Miss Jones" Then he moved away from the car, allowing her to drive away. She closed the window, smiled one last time before hitting the gas and driving away from her work. It was Friday, time to go home, cook herself a great dinner and have a long bath without any thoughts on the dangerous Callen.

At the next cross roads, she had to stop for a red light and for a moment, she closed her eyes. Immediately, her senses were overloaded with the memory of his strong scent softened by the fresh rain. A honking car behind her, brutally tore her away from her thoughts and she continued her way home. She really had to get over herself.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen waited a moment until the small, bright red car had rounded the corner before returning through the gate and inside the building. He snuck back to the room with the clothes and returned the umbrella to the rest of them.

"Mr Callen, if you are going to steal my things to use them for personal goals, at least return them in a dignified state. If you leave that umbrella closed, it's going to take days to dry, mess up my other umbrellas and even ruin that umbrella stand that was a gift from a very interesting English Duke. They are quite used to rain over there."

Callen turned around and saw Hetty standing in the doorway, her eyebrow slightly arched and with one hand gesturing to the umbrella he had tried to push in with the others.

"It wasn't for personal goals" was his only retort while complying to his boss and taking out the umbrella. He opened it again and put it on the floor, where it could dry before he would put it back in the stand. He nodded once again to Hetty, before walking back to his desk to finish his work.

"Hey Callen, can you tell Kensi again how you agreed with me?" Deeks welcomed him back, almost directly starting another war.

Hetty slightly shook her head.

"You just keep saying that to yourself, Mr Callen" she mumbled under her breath while returning to her desk.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

**Thanks for reading. It would be nice if you would also leave something for me to read, like a review. **


	3. Chapter 3: Not Alone

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own anything. Except for Natalie Holden, the poor thing. **  
Note: **I have this bad feeling that after a while, my updates won't be this frequent anymore, but for now I will try to keep it up. Except for maybe this weekend, as I might be going on a roadtrip with some friends. If it doesn't get cancelled. Anyways, this is my go at something a bit more serious and a bit darker to give them also something to actually work on. And I tried the planning you know, but it's impossible to predict the atmosphere after a chapter and what can feel right for the next one, so I am just going to go with the flow.

And thanks for all the lovely reviews! I also prefer the slow burn of feelings, so I hope in the end that everything will be logical. And thank you folks for adding the story to their favorites or putting an alert on it, or doing everything. You people make my day!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

A few days had gone by and once again, Nell was at work. They were in the middle of an intensive investigation involving the 15 year old daughter of a high-ranked Marine. The case had the whole team working none-stop, trying to close the case, but they barely had any clues. The girl had been kidnapped from her home after which the father had received a single e-mail with pictures and a video. They had found the body exactly 5 hours later, still without clues that would lead to her killer.

It was intensive and frustrating and created a certain tension in the team. Sam was quiet, obviously thinking about his own daughter. She was younger than this girl, but being a father it still hit home. Deeks, for once, didn't make any jokes, feeling that nobody was in the mood for it and just did his work. He kept glancing over to the desk of his partner, that had been abandoned a few minutes ago.

Kensi had left for the firing range to shoot at stuff. She herself had been the 15 year old daughter of a Marine and had connected with the girl, only to be the one that found the body and having to live with the fact that she hadn't been in time to save her.

She hadn't seen Callen since they had come back in from the job. He wouldn't have left the building, so she imagined him in the gym where he would probably be training.

Nell was sitting in her chair, looking at the screen in front of her. She had got the job to compose the file with all the information they had already gathered up until this point. It was a harrowing job. Without the pressure of having to find a young girl who was terrified at exactly the same time, her mind had taken the liberty of blaming itself. She should have worked harder, should have been faster in making connections of thinking of something, anything, that could have made a difference.

Now, instead of having to solve a kidnapping, they had to solve a murder. And it didn't look good, it didn't look good at all. Taking a deep breath, Nell started at the beginning. She shut out all the background noises, including Eric who was typing intensively on the keyboard at the other side of the room with a hollow look in his eyes.

The girl's name had been Natalie Holden, 15 years old. This morning had started out as every other day. She woke up, had breakfast, said goodbye to her dad and then left for school. It was a 15 minute walk and about halfway she would meet up with two friends to walk the rest together. Only, this morning, she had never shown. Her friends had tried calling her on her cellphone, without an answer, before calling to her house. Her father had searched for her, before making a few calls. When he came home, the pictures had been waiting for him. All of this happened in the span of about half an hour.

Then, the hunt had started. Trying to follow up the few clues they had, they had started working. Eric was tracing the e-mail, only to discover that it had been sent from a university server. This did tell them that they had two people working together, because the origin of the e-mail was too far away from where the girl was taken for it to be possible to do all of this in less than half an hour, while holding a girl.

Nell reopened the pictures from the e-mail, looking at the face of young Natalie Holden. She had been very small for her age with big, brown eyes that were spread wide in terror. She had a few pink streaks in her normally blond her, which made Nell wonder if it was an act of rebellion against the strict navy routine she must have lived in. She bit her lip and shook slightly her head. A bruise had started to take shape on the left side of her face, lighted up clearly by the flash of the camera. Her t-shirt had also been ripped, showing a few drops of blood. They must have used brute force on her to make sure she wouldn't fight them.

Nell swallowed against the lump that was starting to form in her throat. It must have been terrible, all of it. She couldn't imagine how she must have felt like.

A noise behind her startled her and Nell turned around to see what had happened.

Eric had jumped up from his chair, a set expression on his face while he pressed a few buttons.

"Found something" he murmured, before looking up to her.

"I had Natalie's father give me a list of all the people that have been in the house in the past weeks and cross-checking these with the actual people. Three and a half weeks ago, there should have been a guy for the electricity who has never been sent by the company. I am going to tell the others."

Nell watched as Eric disappeared through the doors before turning back to her computer. The pictures were still staring at her and she filed them away with a few clicks. There still was the video and she moved the mouse over the icon, hesitating for a moment before opening it. A small window appeared on her screen and again she saw the terrified face of Natalie Holden. She was sitting on a chair, the background to dark and unclear to see where she was.

"Hi daddy" She said softly, shaking and her eyes turned away slightly from the camera. She was reading something that was held up by the person behind the camera.

"I hope you have enjoyed your work, because you always seem to have found it more important than me. You never listened to what I would tell you about school or what I wanted, you never paid any attention. But that doesn't matter anymore, because-" The girl started crying when she realized the meaning of the next part of the text and from behind the camera some muffled sounds could be heard. Nell watched for tenth time that day how Natalie Holden, bound to a chair in a dark room, taken and beaten by strangers, was forced to say goodbye to her father.

"Because I am not coming back. You will never see me again." For a moment that seemed to be the end of the message, but then..

"I'm sorry dad, I love you" This time, the girl looked straight in the camera, not reading anything and with the look in her eyes saying more than her words ever could. Then the video stopped and the screen went black.

Nell kept asking herself why the kidnappers hadn't cut the last part out, it clearly hadn't been scripted. But then she thought that the whole intention of this was to hurt the girl's father and not the girl herself. A last act of strength, even while the girl was terrified, would maybe give him pride about his daughter and an even stronger feeling of loss now she was dead.

Nell hadn't moved since the ending of the video, just staring at the screen, until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

She jumped up, pushing back the chair and turning around in the same motion to see who had snuck up on her. Looking up, she found the blue eyes of Callen, a glance of worry directed to her.

"You okay?" He asked softly. She didn't answer directly but kept staring. Only then she noticed how her legs were shaking, how her entire body was trembling and even the familiar burn of distant tears in her eyes. She didn't know how to respond, what words would make sense.

"I don't know" was her honest response.

"But I will be" She had to be. She could allow herself a minute of this, allow herself to be a normal person who was in absolute shock by the horrors a young girl had to live through.

Callen stayed silent for another moment, searching her hazel eyes. She didn't turn away from him, but locked into his gaze.

They stayed still for a few seconds, before Callen nodded slightly.

"It isn't a bad thing to be upset. It shows that you are human, that you still care. When you don't feel anything, it might be time to get out"

Nell nodded slightly. It made sense, it felt true somehow, but thinking about it yourself and actually having a person telling you this were two very different things.

"Are you okay?" She asked instead. She watched his face, his eyes, as the mask he always wore broke for a second and she could read the confusion in his eyes. She wondered when it had been the last time in a situation like this that somebody had asked him that question.

He slightly squeezed her shoulder with the hand that was still on her shoulder before letting her go.

"We are going to work to catch these monsters and make them pay. Then, I will also be okay" Nell smiled sadly at his words. She doubted this, to be honest. There would be another case he would work for, without thinking of himself.

Taking a risk, she stepped forward into his personal space and slid her arms around his waist to hug him. She felt him stiffen in surprise and for the first time that day, she laughed softly.

"This isn't an attack, you don't have to take me down or anything" she said, almost whispering. Because Callen was a lot bigger than she was, she could easily rest her head against his chest. She didn't see his face, but felt the hesitation go through him while he slowly lifted his arms and put them around her.

He grumbled something she didn't understand and she slightly twisted her head, but still couldn't see his face.

"What?"

"I wouldn't take you down" He repeated his words, even if there was again a bit of hesitation in his words. She laughed again and for a last moment she leaned in closer before letting to again and stepping back. She had stopped trembling and took a deep breath before straightening herself again.

"I have to go back to work" she said, suddenly noticing the slight warmth that had crept to her face. Damn her and her schoolgirl-reaction.

Callen nodded. They both had to get back to work.

"We have a murderer to catch" he said, before turning around and leaving the room. Eric came back and the two men walked through the door at the same time, Eric stopping Callen for a quick moment before giving him the short version of what he had found. The agent nodded in thanks and looked back at Nell for a moment before exiting.

Eric stood still for a moment, before turning to the female tech with a slight frown on his face.

"What was he doing here?" Hazel met green when Nell looked at him, before shrugging slightly.

"Checking in on a friend"

Yeah, a friend.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen was sorting through the information he had gotten from Eric while walking down the stairs, deciding on a plan. Downstairs, he sent Kensi and Deeks to the electricity company to check on the information while he and Sam went back to the house.

While walking to the car, his thoughts went back to Nell.

He had been on his way to the bullpen when passing the command centre where the doors had just been closing. Nell had been staring at a screen, clearly upset, and he had just felt the need to go in and check on her. They had been brought in on the case because of the possibility that the kidnappers would want information in return for the daughter, but everything had turned out differently.

He couldn't stop thinking about her, what she had gone through. Natalie had been a girl, a teenager, and the closest she had ever got to something like this was a move or something on TV. The thing that for him was the most difficult, was that she kept reminding him of someone. He couldn't really put his finger on it, but he felt incredibly angry and sad for what had happened.

And then there had been Nell, who had hugged him. Of all things she could have done. It was a strange choice. People normally didn't really hug him. Actually, it happened more often that he got shot at, so what did that say about him?

But the petite analyst had just stepped into him and he had held her. She had felt so small in his arms, as if she could be swept away any moment. She had felt fragile, even when he knew that this wasn't true. Nell was a though woman, even if it was in a different way than Kensi.

And now, next to all the other feelings that had been going through him involving Nell, he felt the sudden urge to protect her and to keep her safe from what was out there.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4: Happy Birthday

**Title: **Cure for the soul **  
By: **GirlOfSpring**  
Pairing: **Nell/Callen**  
Summary: ** It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't own, don't own! And you folks should check out the CD, it's awesome. And I don't own it either! **  
Notes: **This part of the story was actually the first idea I had gotten before writing this. Anyways, I am not too sure about it, but just let me know what you think. Then, I have two things to say:

**1**: Those reading this who have also posted stories on FF, I think you can imagine my reaction when I get a review. They seriously make my day (no, that's not just something we authors say, it actually happens!) but I up until now only a very small number of the people that read this story have bothered to leave a review. I know some of you think that just saying 'I like!' or something like that doesn't make such a difference, but it does for me, so after reading you can make a stranger very happy by just typing a few words and telling me what you guys thought. Those of you that have already reviewed, thank you very much!

**2**: So, I was thinking about writing one of the next chapters with a dream. I just don't know whether I should do it from Callen or Nell. So I thought you people could help me decide. Who do you want to have a dream, Nell or Callen? (Yes, I have different scenarios, I just don't know which one to choose..)

And now I am going to shut up! Enjoy!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen was sitting in the only chair he owned in the living room of the house he was more or less forced to buy by his boss. He staired at the wall at the other side of the room, his mind empty for the first time that night.

He had barely slept. The evening before, it had been late when he finally unlocked the door and went inside, doing the quick sweep without really being aware of his own movements. He had been so incredibly tired and, within a few minutes, he had disappeared in his bed, thinking he would at least sleep for an hour or three.

But sleep hadn't come. Every time he closed his eyes, his brain roared in protest and started bombarding him with images. Within five minutes, he was up again, walking through the house and practicing one of his languages.

After a few minutes of trying to ask for a screw driver in German, he just couldn't concentrate anymore. So instead, he sat down with his gun and started taking it apart for some cleaning, only to get frustrated when there was a bit that just wouldn't get clean. And like this, the night went on. He would try to sleep a bit, wouldn't be able to and for the following hour he would walk around and start different things, only to stop doing them because he was too distracted or too frustrated.

Details of the case they were working on were some of the things that would keep him awake, such as theories that could have given them a different outcome in the end. It was unusual for him to be this obsessed with an investigation. He was an undercover operative, he worked with a lot of dangerous people but their cases usually involved people that tried to hurt big groups of people or to sell information or weaponry. They didn't involve children who were brutally murdered for some until now unidentified reason.

It was wrong. You didn't hurt children, they couldn't really protect themselves against adults. It was just wrong.

The rest of the night went like this, until he ended up in his chair and in the end his thoughts were empty. Slowly, the wall became brighter with the rising sun, but at the same time is eyes slowly fell shut.

In the end, he slept for two hours.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was the first to be in the office that morning. She had decided to go for an early start, doing some of the other work for Hetty before the actual hours would start. The other day had ended quite late, without a lot of progress. Finally, they had hit a dead end and Hetty had decided to hand the case over to another unit.

The decision hadn't been received well. After all, they had been working on the case since the beginning, but the argument their tiny boss gave was that they had other work to do, work that demanded their full attention. And above all, they were the "A-team", there seemed always to be some guy trying to make their lives complicated.

Nell shook her head while prepping the computers for the day. It you happened to be in as early as she was, you got to start a lot of the programs they would be using throughout the day. She pushed a few buttons and listened while the machinery softly buzzed to life. It was always a sound that would give her the feeling that there was work that had to be done.

While she waited, Nell returned downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee while she had to wait. It was her second cup of the day, but she couldn't resist the delightful brew. While watching how the dark liquid filled her cup, she was greeted by a voice.

"Good morning, Miss Jones. You are here quite early" Nell looked up to see their boss standing next to her, filling the kettle for her tea.

"Yes, I just wanted to get started on time." Nell smiled while picking up her cup and adding some sugar.

"I have the files ready you will have to work through as well"

Nell nodded again and had a first sip of her still hot coffee while the kettle sounded the alarm to say that the water was ready. Hetty used a first bit to just run some water through her teapot, before refilling the kettle and reheating the water.

"Why do you think those men took Natalie Holden and killed her?" Nell asked after a few more seconds of silence. She turned her eyes towards her boss, searching for an answer in the eyes of the older woman.

Hetty didn't reply immediately. Instead, she waited for the water to boil again and then refilling her teapot, adding tea and preparing it just the way she wanted it.

"It is always difficult to understand the full reasoning behind another person's actions, Miss Jones. Where they forced to do this or was this something they liked to do? Was it a game for them, to see if they were capable of taking a girl and killing her, or was this as we could call it a 'testdrive' and are we to expect more murders like these. At this moment in the investigation, it is very difficult to be certain of any number of details, more so with the little information we have."

"But what do you think?"

"I think.. I think that it isn't important what I think, Miss Jones. We have to work with the facts that we have and not invent them in our minds to obstruct our investigation. But, this is not your case anymore. Your energy would be spent better on one of your own cases"

Hetty smiled and took her plateau with the teapot and teacup with her to her desk.

"If you would follow me Miss Jones, I will give you the files you need to get started" She called over her shoulder.

Nell quickly took a few more sips of her coffee, before leaving the empty cup next to the machine and following her boss.

Hetty had a strange smile, always had. It could be friendly or reassuring, but Nell always had the feeling that there was something else that Hetty was thinking of at the same time. She wouldn't even be surprised any more of she would be thinking of five different things at the same time.

The smile reminded her most of all of the Cheshire cat.

Shaking her head, Nell walked to the desk were the small woman had put down her plateau. There was a small pile of files on the desk which Hetty gave to the intelligence analyst.

"This should be everything you need."

"Thank you."

Nell took the files and walked back upstairs to the command centre where by now the computers were buzzing and filled with life. She sat down in her chair and slid a bit to the side, putting the files down on the desk.

She took the top one, stamped confidential, and opened it only to be greeted by a piece of papier with text typed on it. She recognized the original of a file she had been looking into last week, but which had been completely blacked out because of confidentiality.

The case was about ten years old and involved the brothers she had been researching. One of them had worked with the CIA on a case that may be of significance.

Humming, she got to work.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

After the two hours of sleep, Callen had woken up and decided to go for a jog. After this, he took a shower and walked outside of the house were at the same time Sam drove up to go to work.

"Morning, Birthday-Boy! Or maybe I should say Birthday-Man" Sam grinned at him when he sank down in the Challenger.

"How old are you now anyway?"

Callen just shrugged while making himself comfortable.

"Does it really matter?"

"Well, I guess it doesn't. Here" Callen looked up when Sam put something heavy in his lap. It seemed to be a rectangular box, wrapped in brown paper. Callen frowned and looked sideways to his partner.

"Happy birthday" The other man just said, concentrating on the road in front of them.

"I know you don't really celebrate your birthday, ever. But every year I still get you a present. So if I wouldn't buy one this year, I would break a tradition. And we can't have that."

Callen just shook his head before ripping the paper from the box. It was made from wood, a deep brown color that shimmered warmly in the rising sun.

Slowly he opened the box, revealing the inside were he could see an old, decorated revolver. He carefully picked it up and turned the wapen between his fingers.

"It is an original from the fifties, it took me some time to find it but there it his" Sam made a gesture with his right hand while talking before speeding up when the lights turned green again.

"And tonight you are coming over for dinner."

Callen shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

"I wouldn't dare not showing up. I think your wife would hunt me down and then force me to come over for dinner."

The entered the street with the office and Callen closed the box again before putting it in his bag.

He didn't want people to see it, to know about his birthday. People, people in general, they had this obsession with birthdays. They had to buy a present, throw a party and somehow they always had to start talking about the past.

He didn't want this. He was fine all the other days of the year, living on and doing his work. He didn't want to think about the day that he would get another year on his meter.

Normally, he didn't do anything, but for the last five years he had had Sam as his partner and after a while the other man had found out about his birthday, so ever since he had been given a present for his birthday. He was grateful though that Sam hadn't told the others about it.

He preferred to be left alone on his birthday.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_G. Callen_

Nell was staring at the paper she was holding. It was about Callen, picture and everything. He was a lot younger but his blue eyes were exactly the same, with a set gaze of determination staring back at her. Quickly, she scanned the paper, reading information that was mostly concerning the case.

Then, she noticed a couple of numbers. The date of his birthday. Nell frowned slightly and looked up, doing some quick calculation in her head. Then she looked back at the paper. Today? Was his birthday today?

She bit her lip and put the paper down. She had been working in the office for at least a year, and she didn't remember them ever celebrating Callen's birthday. Nobody ever talked about it either. They all had gone for drinks on Deeks' birthday and she had gotten a present for Kensi. Hetty's birthday she remembered quite clearly, this being in her first week at NCIS, and she also knew the birthdays of both Sam and Eric. Callen was the sole exception of the friends she had made here.

Maybe they didn't know because Callen didn't like his birthday. As a matter of fact, she couldn't see him as a person that would eat a colorfully decorated birthday cake with all of his friends around him. Come to think about it, he seemed a lot more like the broody type that would go for a drink and tell nobody.

Nell sighed and shook her head. She wouldn't be surprised at all, but now she knew it was his birthday, she had at least to do something about it.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen stretched his arms before putting down the pen he had been using to make a few notes. At the moment, he was the only person sitting at the four desks. Sam had taken both Kensi and Deeks into the training hall to do some hand-to-hand combat training, which left him in the quiet to finish his work.

The silence was however interrupted by footsteps and a few moments later, he saw the young intelligence analyst standing next to his desk with a small, paper bag in her hand. She seemed to be a bit uncomfortable, but she smiled anyway before setting the small bag on his desk.

He frowned slightly. This was starting to look an awful lot like a birthday-present and the strange two minute talk he didn't like.

Instead, Nell made a small gesture at the bag.

"I guessed that you wouldn't like the balloons raining down on you, so I went with something a bit more simple."

Before he really knew what was happening, she had come even closer and her lips touched his cheek in a soft kiss. He felt his skin burn were she had touched him, but he didn't move away. Instead, he slowly turned his eyes to her. She had a slight shade of pink on her cheeks while stepping back.

"Happy birthday G." She said quietly, before pretty much fleeing.

Callen blinked a few times. Did that just really happen? Did Nell Jones just really give him a present, kiss him on the cheek and, most of all, call him G? He knew G wasn't really a name, but she hadn't called him Callen, as she had done before.

If he was a normal person he knew his first name, which would have been something like George or Gabriel of Geoffrey, she would have called him that, but he didn't think he would have felt the same shiver running down his back.

There were so few people that actually called him G, and Nell had just put herself on that very short list. He shook his head and turned to the paper bag.

What could it be? Now, he was seriously curious. Another thing he had seen at other people's birthdays was the 'weird-gift-event', which often just ended in awkward conversations. His fingers lingered for a moment, before opening the bag.

He felt the casing of a CD and frowned slightly. It didn't feel wrapped so he pulled it out in one swift movement, revealing a red CD casing. He turned it, so he could see the front of the cover which was red with in black the silhouette of a woman.

_Deleted scenes from the cutting room floor _by _Caro Emerald_.

He frowned again before turning the casing again. On the back was a list of the tracks, but he didn't recognize any of the names, nor had he recognized the name of the singer of the name of the CD.

What was this?

Then he saw a post-it, stuck to the back of the casing. It was glued to the plastic just under the second track, covering the third. Nell had written something on it, with a small arrow pointing up to the second track which was called Just One Dance.

Slowly, Callen felt his lips twitch into a smile.

_Happy Birthday G!  
I think you will remember this song  
X Nell. _

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Those of you that don't remember, Just One Dance was the song Nell was dancing to when Callen walked in in the first chapter.

Thanks for reading and let me know whether you want Callen or Nell to have a dream!


	5. Chapter 5: Callen's Dream

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **Well, here's then the first dream-sequence and I decided to go for Callen with this one. I am personally actually quite satisfied with this chapter, but let me know what you guys think of it!

I think that a bit more towards the end, this chapter gets a bit more M-content, so don't say that I didn't warn you.

Thank you so much for all the reviews, again! Definitely after the last chapter, they really do make me happy. Now I just want to apologise for the long wait this time, but in the end we went on the roadtrip in the middle of the week, and then I had a last week of school and I did some things with all my friends and I had to pack my things because I moved yesterday.. So, I'm sorry for the delay!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Soft, mellow music filled the air while Callen let his eyes wander through the room he had just entered. He was standing on the highest step of the stairs that came directly after the hidden front door and led down into a bar.

He couldn't see the other side of the room because of the dark, blue smoke that was coming from different cigarettes and cigars. He tried anyway, squinting, but it still didn't really change the view.

Shaking his head, Callen walked down the stairs and slowly, he could make out the guests the bar had this evening.

Men in expensive suits, often in black or another dark colour, their hair cut short or straightened back with slick gel. The women wore classy dresses in the most different colours, varying from passionate red to calming blue, ears and slender necks decorated with the most extravagant of jewelry.

His eyes darted through the room, registering the people but not instantly recognizing anybody inside. He twisted his shoulders for a moment, before walking to the left where the bar was. He leaned against the counter and acknowledged the bartender with a small nod.

"Good evening Sam"

"Good evening, Mr Callen. The usual?"

Callen nodded and the barman, a big, muscled guy with a darker skin tone pulled out a whiskeyglass in a swift move and filled it with the amber-coloured drink. A napkin was put on the counter and then the glass was set on top of it.

Callen nodded with appreciation and took the glass for a first sip.

"A lot of new people tonight, I see. What's going on?" He asked while turned sideways so he could have another look around. He saw a few women look his way, followed by those of the men that were accompanying them. He ignored them and turned back to Sam, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Miss Blye managed to get hold of a new, rising singer for the show tonight. She's supposed to be absolutely amazing and once word got out, the guests came as flies to the honey. It's incredible, but good for business."

Callen nodded in agreement to what the bartender said.

"Where is the infamous Miss Blye anyway?" He hadn't spoken to her in quite a while now, which was not the best thing to do if you wanted to keep up your social status in this town.

Sam just grinned and started polishing a new glass, just giving the smallest twist with his eyes to something behind Callen. He grinned in response and slowly turned around, facing the woman that had come up to him.

"Well, if you speak of the devil"

Miss Kensi Blye was the very rich, very famous and very beautiful owner of the bar.

"Mr Callen, how nice of you to join us once again" She extended her hand to him and automatically, Callen took it before lifting it up to his lips. His eyes however remained on her face, every day still surprised by the black and the brown eye that calmly looked at him.

She should never be mistaken for a woman that couldn't take care of herself, even if she had a bodyguard and a fiancée who was very protective of her.

"The pleasure is all mine, of course" He smiled and let go of her hand. He knew the woman as one that always wanted to be different, to stand out from the crowd, and today was another day that she didn't fail doing this.

She was wearing a silk dress of the deepest colour of red that encircled her body perfectly, but it was shorter than the dresses of any other woman in the bar tonight and instead of covering up skin, it slit down between her breasts and showed light, perfect skin.

"Mr Martin is a very lucky man with such a beautiful woman as yourself, if I may say so" He said, referring to the host of most shows and her now fiancée.

His words provoked a loud, clear laugh and with her hand she made a small movement as if she said that it didn't really matter, but Callen noticed the shimmer of the huge engagement-ring on her finger. Always a show-off.

"I think he would be delighted if you would join him for a drink later, he does love to talk" Callen bowed slightly his head in appreciation.

"I would love that" His eyes went through the room again, before he looked back at Miss Blye.

"What is this I have been hearing about the singer you have got a hold on? I have been told she is a rising star, and the reason why I can't seem to find any acquaintances I normally see here"

Miss Blye laughed again before slightly shaking her head, causing a dark curl to graze her cheek.

"I saw her a while back in the Milestone, and she was quite good" Her friendly tone had changed into something more cool, laced with ice, and Callen recognized it for the hate it was, directed to the other bar. She had always held a grudge against it, nobody really knew why, and ever since she became owner of this bar, she had fighting a war in being the better, more popular and most famous bar, which meant that if the Milestone had gotten a hold of a new, rising singer, she had to have her as well.

"I'm sure she will be amazing" He said, before taking another sip of his whiskey.

"Excuse me" He smiled and stepped sideways, before emptying his glass in one go and asking Sam for another one.

While filling it up, the bartender glanced sideways to make sure that his boss was walking away.

"This whole feud is getting out of hand, I'm telling you" He then said quietly. Callen took his glass when he was finished and quickly looked to the owner, where she was talking to an older couple.

"She does know how to run this place, she might just get a bit too obsessed with this war and then it might cause a problem"

Sam made a noise of disagreement.

"There's no war going on, it's all in her head" He murmured, before walking sideways to help another lady.

Callen nodded slightly and started walking to the middle of the room. Here and there, some people were standing up and chatting, mostly to work on their personal connections. Typically, these were mostly the men, accompanied by their wives. The small tables were also mostly occupied, either by friends who had come for an evening out or by people such as him; people that were on their own and liked the atmosphere or the fact that they could blend in without to many questions asked.

Callen made his way through the room, looking around and being careful that he wouldn't bump into anyone. While the left wall of the room had been changed into the bar, the right side was lined with small booths were mostly younger couples were sitting close together, smoking, drinking and doing other things that wouldn't be too decent.

He ignored them and walked to the front, where the stage was dominating the room. There was nobody on it, yet, and Callen took a chair on the first row, putting his glass down on the table. He fumbled with his inside pocket and got out a cigarette.

"Light?" A hand had appeared in his vision, holding a golden lighter. He looked up and saw a tall, blond woman with a small smile on her lips. He nodded slightly before leaning forward and she snapped lighter, creating a small flame. He held his cigarette in the fire, before leaning back and inhaling the first, very welcome warmth.

"Thank you" He said before taking another puff. He hadn't recognized her and when he looked up again, the lighter was gone. In the back of his head, he registered that she wasn't wearing any purse or whatsoever. Where had the lighter gone?

The lady seemed to notice the conclusion in his eyes and she smiled again, this time with a glint of desire in her eyes. She leaned forward a bit, definitely flirting now and pushed her breasts forward.

"If you need another fire, just come and find me" She said seductively, before walking away with swaying hips. For a moment, he followed her movements, before bringing the cigarette to his lips again.

This was the good life: a cigarette in one hand, a glass of whiskey in the other and some music.

A man had appeared on the stage, spreading his arms as if he was going to embrace all the people in the bar in one, big hug.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" Callen looked up, studying Martin Deeks. He had been host of the bar for the last year and somewhere in the process gotten engaged to the owner. He had shining, jovial blue eyes and instead of following the usual trend, he wore his hair quite long and never seemed to make an effort to control it.

"Tonight, I have the pleasure to introduce to you a new, rising star who has been very popular with her beautiful singing voice, seemingly always enchanting the men. Ladies, watch out" He smiled and winked once and Callen noticed that some of the women in the bar had straightened up a bit, as if they were preparing themselves for having to restrain their men.

He shook his head and looked back at the stage.

"Without any more delay, I give you Miss Nell Jones!"

Mr Martin walked sideways, clearing the stage. For a few seconds, nothing really happened and Callen took another sip of his glass. He was starting to get quite curious about this woman. He had never heard of her.

Then, a young woman walked on stage. She was petite, making herself look a bit taller by wearing heels and wearing a deep, green dress. His eyes followed her as she walked to the middle of the stage, where a microphone was waiting for her. With a small smile, she readjusted the height, because it was too high for her, before she looked in the room to where Mr Martin had gone off too.

"I am not as tall as you are, Martin" She said with a mischievous smile, getting a few laughs from the audience.

Callen instantly liked her.

A small group of men followed her on stage, taking place behind the different instruments, followed by three women wearing small, black dresses. The background singers went for their own microphones and then everybody was ready.

Callen didn't really watch any of them though, his eyes were glued to the petite singer. She had creamy skin, which was emphasized by the colour of the dress and the dim lighting. Her hair was untraditionally short and a fiery auburn shade unlike he had ever seen before. Not like this.

He shook his head slightly when he noticed he was staring and quickly took a big gulp of his whiskey.

In the meantime, Miss Jones had turned her head to the guy at the piano and signed something with her fingers. The pianist started playing a jazz tone and soon he was joined by the other instruments.

Then, the petite singer surprised every single person in the room by letting out a long, deep note that fit in perfectly with the music, before she started to sing.

She was amazing. Her voice was soft when it had to be, rich and powerful the next moment and all the time with the velvet overtone.

While singing, she smiled, she used her hips and her body and she flirted with the audience.

Callen was entranced, he found that he couldn't look away. She sang song after song, varying between happy tunes and the sadder ones. His cigarette lay forgotten in the ashtray, slowly burning to an end and after two songs also his glass of whisky was finished.

The latest song came to an end and she turned around. For a moment he thought she was finished and a feeling of sadness overcame him, but then a new song started. He vaguely registered it as something he knew, but all thoughts left his mind when once again she started swaying her hips to the song.

The green dress was quite open, showing her perfect skin and surprisingly a gold necklace that hang down her back.

She kept her back turned to the audience, swaying her hips, and Callen felt his heard pumping, blood rushing through his veins. Slowly, she turned around and started singing the lyrics.

He couldn't look away. His eyes were trained on her lips.

_But underneath the mask, I see the skin of a man  
Smooth and seductive, who's really got a plan  
It's drawing me in, magnetically to you  
You haven't got forever, but I got that too_

He looked up, straight into the hazel eyes. She was looking at him while singing and a shiver ran down his back when he registered the words. He saw her smile before she winked and then started singing again to the whole audience.

Slowly, the song came to an end and this time there wasn't a new song.

"And a big thank you to Miss Nell Jones!" Mr Martin had appeared back on stage.

"Isn't she enchanting? No worries, Miss Jones is going to have a break and then she will be back to sing some more"

Callen heard appreciative talking coming from behind him and for a moment he turned around. He wasn't the only man that had been completely taken by the singing. He shook his head and turned around again, only to see Miss Jones leave the stage and turn back for a moment to look him straight in the eye. She raised her hand and motioned him to follow her, before disappearing through a door.

As is he was in trance, Callen got up and walked through the door, leaving the talking behind him in the room. The door lead through a small, dark corridor and at the end he saw a flash of green disappear around the corner, followed by delicious laughter. He started walking again, following the sound. It seemed to go on forever, further and further, left and right and left again and every time he rounded the corner, he could just see her disappear around the next.

He started running in order to catch her, but all of a sudden the corridor just stopped. He stared at the wall that was prohibiting from going any further and he tried pushing it away. The only thought left in his mind was that he had go get to her, be with her.

All of a sudden, he heard of soft laugh behind him and he turned around.

She was standing right in front of him. Now he was this close, he could see how small she was compared to him, even when wearing the high heels but also up close she was so much more beautiful.

He had to have her.

As if she had heard his thoughts, she stepped closer and pushed him against the wall with much more force than he thought she would have. The next second, he didn't mind because she was pressed against him, lips finding his.

He groaned at the sweet taste that was coming from her lips and pulled her closer. His hands slid down to her legs and then he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him while he turned and pushed her against the wall.

He was losing control, kissing her roughly while his fingers were tugging at the dress that was keeping him from seeing and feeling more of her creamy skin.

He was encouraged and welcomed by the softer, more feminine sounds that left the lips of Miss Nell Jones, definitely expressing pleasure.

He took her bottom lip between his own and pulled, before leaving her lips and sliding downwards to her neck. He kissed her skin hungrily while she tilted her head backwards with a moan and he nipped the skin slightly, before sucking on her collar bone.

All of a sudden, the wall they were leaning against disappeared and they fell forwards, straight onto a big and very soft bed. The legs that she had put around his waist disappeared and he pulled her up before he started pulling on the straps of the dress so he could free her. At the same time, hands had pushed the jacket over his shoulder and found the hem of the shirt he was wearing, pulling it apart. Hot fingers flew over his skin, downwards to his trousers and he buckled slightly.

At the same time, he was getting very impatient with the dress so with all the force he had, he ripped it away, revealing her body. She wasn't wearing anything underneath it and he pushed her down on the matrass again, kissing her lips. His fingers slid down to her breasts and he roughly flicked her rosy nipples, draining soft cries of pleasure from her lips.

"Please G., please!" He shivered when she called him by his name, for the name it was, and his lips slid to her ear were he nibbled on her earlobe.

Slowly, everything started to fade except for her cries for him, her voice filled with desire. He started rolling, pushing and tried to fight the fading images, trying to keep a hold on them.

"Nell!"

Callen shot up straight on his matrass, panting heavily.

It was a dream, it was all a dream. With eyes wide from shock, he tilted his head backwards and closed his eyes.

It was just a dream.

He was leaning on his arms, of which his hands were positioned on the matrass, and only then did he notice that his arms were shaking. His whole body was shaking and when he moved slightly, he felt his arousal tightening his pajama.

He groaned again and with some difficulty did he manage to get up from the matrass he had lying on the floor to sleep on. When he checked his watch, it was only an hour and a half later than when he had tried to fall asleep.

Lifting his shaking hand to his forehead, he took a deep breath to calm himself, but every time he tried to think of something else, new images of a naked Nell appeared in his mind. So completely naked and absolutely willing to have him. He shook his head and stepped away from the bed.

What did this mean exactly? Did he have feelings for her? Or did he just really, _really_ want to have sex with her until he couldn't do it anymore? Somewhere in the back of his head, a small part of him definitely appreciated that idea.

He started making his way to the bathroom. It was time for a very cold shower.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

**This is the answering machine of GirlOfSpring, please leave a review after the beep. **

**BEEP! **


	6. Chapter 6: This is Bad

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **If I would own, there would be a lot more scenes from a very different style. **  
Note: **So.. Sorry? And actually sorry again because I know that this chapter is very short compared to the others. I actually have a part that still belongs to this one, but I decided to split it up into two because it's about how they solved the case they are working on (yes! A case! But it's sort of important for the rest of the story, you'll find out in the end..)

So again, I am so sorry for the incredible delay this chapter has had, but the second part of it will be up a lot sooner. Secondly, I was browsing my FF-page and I discovered a button so I can reply to all your amazing reviews (Yeah yeah, I know what you guys are thinking xD Only now!) so starting now I will start replying to your reviews as well..

Now.. Enjoy!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Callen looked up to the sky while walking over to his car. It was going to be one of _those_ days, he was sure of it. For one thing, the sky was a greyish white with clouds in which you couldn't see the beginning nor the end. He hated this kind of weather. It had a strange feeling to it, as if nothing would ever happen because they were closed off from everything.

He shook his head and got in his car, starting the engine in one swift movement. Directly, he was greeted by the now familiar tones of the CD he had gotten from Nell.

Callen groaned and let his head fall back against the head rest while his brain was flooded by images of her flushed face with sparkling, hazel eyes that didn't leave him alone.

He shuddered and the images continued so that he could almost feel her legs around his waist again.

Suddenly, when he realized what exactly he was doing, his eyes flew open and he quickly turned off the music before driving away from the parking space. He had that distinct feeling you have after somebody would throw a bucket of empty water over your head.

He drove to the office, choosing streets at random he hadn't used in a couple of days without really thinking about it.

This was bad.

This whole _feeling_ thing. Every time he tried to concentrate on something, he would be able to do so for about ten seconds before thinking about his dream again.

After waking up that morning, he hadn't been able to go to sleep again. His eyes wouldn't close and after the very long, very cold shower he wandered aimlessly through the house, picking up things to do but always putting them down again.

After an hour, he had already fantasized in loads of different ways that he could have sex with her throughout the whole of the house and before he could leave for work, he had been forced to take another shower.

Now he dreaded going to the office, because he really didn't want to know what would happen if he would actually see her with all of this mess.

And those thoughts got him directly a very interesting image of her, completely naked and sitting on his desk.

Callen cursed and opened the windows of his car while speeding up to let the wind blow in his face.

It would be a very interesting day at work today.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was humming happily while climbing the stairs to the command centre. The weather hadn't been the best that morning but with a nice breakfast and a good shower, she did get an awefully nice start for her day.

Now, in the office, she was going up so she could go over the case for the day with Eric and then later they could brief the whole team.

The doors slid open and she walked in the blue-lit room, where the surfer-tech was staring blankly at the screen in front of him.

Slowly, Nell walked up to him and tilted her head slightly.

"You look like crap" She then commented lightly.

"Late night?"

She only got a low groan in response and she sat down next to Eric, silently patting him on his shoulder.

"I went for a drink yesterday and then, this morning, the girl I had met was just.. gone.." He mumbled before shaking his head.

With a sympathetic smile, Nell nodded slightly.

"That sucks. You know what, I'll make you a good, very strong coffee in a few minutes and then you might wake up a bit more"

She took her tablet and turned to the big screen while she started pulling up the newest information they had gotten for their new case.

"Anything special I should know?" Without really noticing so herself, she had gone into work mode. But she would get Eric his promised coffee.

Her partner picked up his own tablet and reorganized the documents so that there were three pictures visible: two men and a woman.

"Last night, LAPD got a call from Georgia and Dennis Walters. They had gotten home from a wedding and found their front door unlocked. When they entered the house, everything was still exactly as it had been earlier except for.. this"

Eric pulled up another picture which showed a very expensive designer-kitchen with in the middle of it, on the tiled floor, a puddle of blood.

"No body, no traces of anybody every being in the house. No signs of forced entry, just the front door being open"

Nell frowned slightly with all this information.

"And what does this have to do with us?" She glanced sideways to her friend, who seemed to have woken up a bit more now he could talk to another human being and he pulled forward the picture of the second man. He was younger than Dennis Walters and strikingly handsome.

"Meet Intelligence Officer Jason O'Dowd. He was in the US Navy overseas, working in different countries in the Middle-East with the highest security clearance. He was declared dead after a car bombing in Iraq"

"And what does he have to do with all of this?"

"We ran DNA on the blood and it's his. Which, obviously, isn't really possible. Hence, our problem. We have to figure out what happened and whether or not Jason O'Dowd is still alive and currently betraying his country.."

Nell nodded and stood up from her chair.

"Got it. I'll get the others"

She walked out of command centre and turned right so she could go to the stairs, directly bumping into a great, big wall of human.

She bounced backwards, surprised by the sudden impact and could feel herself falling. As every normal person, she braced herself for impact, but it never came.

Arms had slid around her and slowly she looked up, straight into a pair of heated, very familiar blue eyes.

"G! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" She said, smiling up at him and placing a hand on his arm to steady herself.

He didn't budge. Instead, she felt his whole body tense up at her words and the slight touch, pulling her just a bit closer in the process.

In that moment she noticed how she was surrounded by hard muscle. How could she not, she was pretty much pressed against him.

Slowly, she felt heat rising to her face. He still hadn't said anything, he just kept staring at her face.

She was suddenly feeling very conscious of herself and licked her dry lips without thinking about it.

"Ehm.. G?" But he still wasn't responding. Because of her movement, his eyes had shifted down to her mouth and he was so close she could feel his hot breath on her lips.

She felt her body almost melting into his embrace, even when it was still a bit awkward because it originated from the motive of not letting her fall to the ground.

"G?" She whispered softly. She had no idea what was happening. Everything else had dropped to the background and she could only stare into his fierce eyes and feel him everywhere around her.

A soft, musky smell entered her nose, mixed with some sort of other scent. It was delicious yet so very, very hot.

"DEEKS! You took my donut again, didn't you!" They heard Kensi shout from downstairs.

The moment was over as Callen stepped back suddenly as if he had burned himself, looking everywhere but her face.

Nell felt herself get even redder and before any of them could say anything, she had slipped past him to go and call the others. Callen walked straight into the command centre without saying another word.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

What had he done?

Inwardly, Callen groaned for the tenth time in two minutes while he mentally kept beating himself up. He had gone upstairs to talk to Eric and literally bumped into Nell.

Without thinking about it, he had caught her before she fell and in the next second every thought had gone for a walk and he couldn't do anything else except for staring into her eyes.

It had felt amazing to hold her, and somewhere in his brain a caveman-part had come to life that wanted him to take her with him, away from the rest of the world.

He shook his head vigorously and tried to concentrate on the story for the case they were working on today, which really wasn't working out for him.

Nell was a good person. He had known her for a while now and she was funny and sweet and considerate and she somehow always did exactly the right thing. With his birthday, she had just given him the CD and he still considered it one of the best presents he had ever gotten, even when it was a very short list.

He sighed and shook his head.

There was of course still the fact that she was absolutely beautiful.

His eyes darted sideways to where she was standing next to the big screen. They were all gathered in the command centre and being briefed about the case.

She was pulling up information and gesturing at pictures while regularly looking back to her spectators, these being himself with Sam, Kensi and Deeks. Eric was sitting at his desk and just watching as she talked.

Everybody was silent and paying attention, something she could just demand by being herself and doing her job.

His eyes followed her every movement.

This was bad, this was very bad.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: Working the Case

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So, as I promised a much quicker update. This chapter is also the longest I have written so far and now there's also a bit more of a story to the whole of it. At least, that's what I think. It did take me a few days to write this and there's not a lot of Nallen in it, with more investigations, but all of this has a purpose. I promise.

And once again, thank you for the amazing reviews!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

"You seem distracted."

"Hmm?"

Callen was staring out of the window of the car to the houses that flew by as Sam sped up.

"Exactly, that's my point. You know, you could at least tell me that I am right or wrong instead of just going all mystical on me. What's up?"

Finally, Callen tore his eyes away from the outside world and glanced sideways to his partner.

"Nothing really, I'm just thinking." He couldn't really tell his partner what he was thinking about, that would just create another very awkward situation.

In the command centre, after the briefing, he had taken charge and told Kensi and Deeks to go and talk to the family of Jason O'Dowd and find out what they could about him. With Sam, he was going to check out the crime scene and talk to Dennis and Georgia Walters to see if there would be any reason why they had the blood in the kitchen.

It was still a strange situation.

They seemed to be a very ordinary couple, without any ties to the navy whatsoever.

"G, I know I can trust you to have my back and everything, but you really seem distracted"

Callen turned to his partner and made a movement with his hand as if he was sweeping away his words.

"Nothing is wrong, I was just thinking about the case" That seemed to satisfy the former SEAL and they drove on in silence.

Yeah, he had been thinking about the case, but by now his thoughts had floated on to their very special intelligence analyst.

What on earth had happened? Well, if he had to be very honest with himself, and he really had to be, he was really attracted to her.

Who wouldn't be?

But this was just a moment in which a grown man who hadn't slept with a woman in a long time had found a woman on which he could project his desires. That was all. The best thing he could do to make all of this go away, was to sleep with a woman.

A sneaky part of his brain, far far away in the back of his head, whispered that it wouldn't even be a bad idea if that woman would be Nell.

He vigorously shook his head.

He couldn't. It would complicate their lives and jobs way too much, and most of all he didn't want to use her to satisfy his needs. He would have to go to a bar and find another woman.

Nell deserved better than an old man who had killed more men than there were working in their LA field office.

But why was he talking about her deserving a man? I wasn't going to get close to her anymore. He would just have to distance himself from her and make sure to do something against his desires.

Everything would be fine.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

"So, could you tell us the story from the beginning? You were at the wedding and…?" Callen was standing next to Sam, who had taken the initiative in the interview with the couple.

Dennis Walters was a tall, broad guy who had the whole look of having been in service about him, but nothing in their background checks suggested anything like that. He was bald with dark brown eyes and a nose that had been broken many times.

Next to the man was standing Georgia Walters. She was younger and a lot tinier than her husband, with shortly cropped black hair and lightblue eyes. She was slightly hugging herself and still seemed to be in shock with the discovery in their house.

"My sister was getting married and we left at around ten from the party." She started, telling the story.

"It's a long drive and we were both tired, we've had a very busy week with both our jobs. So, we came home at around 11.30 pm and Dennis saw that the front door was unlocked and slightly ajar. He told me to call 911 and to wait in the car with the doors locked.."

Her husband slightly squeezed her shoulder before looking up to Callen and Sam.

"We have an umbrella stand next to the front door and I keep a baseball bat in there as well. I took it and went inside. I looked around but there was nobody there, except for the blood in the kitchen."

Sam nodded after their words and gestured towards the kitchen. They were sitting in the living room and in the kitchen they could see a couple of their men looking for any traces of evidence.

"Has there been any progress?" Dennis Walters asked them and Callen slightly shrugged his shoulders.

"We're not really at liberty to discuss the details of a still on-going investigation. We have come across some leads and we are looking into those now. Can you stay with some family for the next couple of days? It will take a bit more time until the search here will be finished and it might be better for you to be somewhere else."

This time it was Georgia Walters who nodded at his words.

"Yeah, we can stay with a friend. Thank you."

"Oh, and one last question. Does the name Jason O'Dowd mean anything to either of you?" Callen was closely studying Dennis Walters' face to see if there would be any reaction to that name, but nothing happened. They looked at each other, both a bit puzzled by the question, before shaking their heads.

"It doesn't ring a bell."

Callen and Sam nodded and both stepped past the couple and towards the kitchen.

"It doesn't make any sense" Callen heard Sam say quietly while they were putting on their black gloves.

"There must have been at least two guys, one of them Jason O'Dowd, who is supposed to be dead. He gets stabbed or shot or injured in some way, which causes him to lose a lot of blood. The other guy then must have taken him away.. But what were they doing in here in the first place?"

Callen sighed and stood next to the rest of the puddle of blood on the floor. He was looking around to see if there was anything to help them further with their investigation.

Next to him, on the cooking island, was a knife block with one knife missing.

"So, there were two guys, standing here. For some reason, they broke into this house or they had the key or something like that. Somehow, they got inside the house."

Sam nodded and stepped closer, standing on the other side of the blood.

"When they are in the kitchen, they start arguing. One of them grabs the knife and stabs the other one.."

To illustrate his story, he took one of the other knifes from the block and made a movement as if he was stabbing Callen.

"He leaves him long enough for the puddle to form. Maybe he is trying to get information from the other guy, but in the end he presses a towel against the wound and they leave.."

"So where is the knife?"

Sam scratched the back of his head before turning around to the lead investigator.

"Hey, you! Have you guys found a knife around here? There should be a knife somewhere, big, with blood on it" The guy shook his head in response before leaving the room, probably to do another sweep.

"He could have taken the knife with him.." Callen said.

"Possible, but let's just hope that getting an injured guy quickly out of the house was asking too much of his attention and that he decided to dump it somewhere.."

They stepped away from the blood and left the kitchen, stopping in the hallway.

"Georgia Walters is a language teacher and Dennis Walters owns a paintball venue. There is nothing that would indicate selling highly classified information to terrorists." Callen sighed.

Sam took out his phone and dialed the office.

"Yeah, Nell. Can you give me the information on the paintball venue Dennis Walters owns? Is it open today and send me the address. Then, just have a look and see if everything is legit.."

Sam went quiet for a moment, probably because Nell was telling him about the information she had found within two seconds and Callen turned around.

He didn't want Sam to see his face. He had been totally engrossed in their work and investigation, not even once thinking of the petite analyst. It only took a second of thinking of her and he was immediately remembered of his dream and the not so good thoughts he had been having about her all morning.

"Alright, thanks"

He heard Sam hang up the phone and took a deep breath before turning back to Sam.

"So, Iron Paintball Venue. I got the address and it's open today. We can go and have a look without Walters being there to ask questions and get suspicious in case he has anything to do with this.."

"Great, let's go" Callen turned and left the house without waiting for another moment. Sam frowned and looked back before following his partner to the car.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was trying to concentrate, but she couldn't. Every time she was trying to think about something for the case, a certain blue-eyes agent popped up in her thoughts and she started making mistakes.

She didn't make mistakes.

She was an intelligence analyst, and a good one at that. She never had problems to order her thoughts and to concentrate on whatever needed her attention at a certain time.

Now, she couldn't, and it was making her feel very frustrated. Most of all because there was something case-related she was trying to remember, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

For some reason the name Jason O'Dowd was familiar and she just couldn't put together the pieces. Why did she remember the name? Where did it come from?

For a second, Nell closed her eyes. She could see it, the name. She had an eidetic memory, which allowed her to recall reading the name in a file of some sort, but the details were all blurry.

Nell cursed in frustration when the blurredness turned into G again and opened her eyes before furiously typing on her keyboard.

She felt Eric glance sideways at her cursing before slowly looking back at his own screen.

"What was that for?"

Nell didn't look up while typing and checking into the financial information on the paintball venue.

"I can't seem to remember from where I recognize the name Jason O'Dowd.." She mumbled in a response to his question.

"I might be able to help with that, Miss Jones."

Eric and Nell both turned around in their chairs when they heard Hetty speak, still a bit spooked by the fact that she seemed to grow from the ground. They hadn't even heard the doors open.

"A while back I asked you to look into the brothers Nick and Russell Demay."

Slowly, Nell nodded. She remembered the two brothers. Very well even, she had been looking into their backgrounds the one evening that Callen had walked in on her dancing.

"They had a younger half-brother who was killed in combat while in Iraq." Hetty explained the connection.

"Of course!" It all came back now the connection was made and Nell felt a bit stupid for not remembering this earlier.

"He was only mentioned in the files once or twice.." Hetty nodded, while Eric was just looking from one woman to the other and not really following their conversation.

"So, I think it would be beneficial to have a look in the past of his two older brothers. You still have the files I presume, there might be a connection to be found in their pasts."

Hetty smiled and turned around before leaving again, leaving her tech team to continue working.

"You going to tell me what that was all about?"

Nell shook her head while she started typing, pulling up all the information she had on the two brothers.

"A while back, Hetty asked me to look into these two brothers who are suspected of being involved in a few different cases including robbery, kidnapping and rape. They both joined the marine a while ago, but got dishonorably discharged for assaulting a woman in Iraq. Nicholas is the elder brother with three years and according to some tests he has an incredibly high IQ. His brother, Russell, has always followed him around and done everything he was told. There's just the problem that we don't know where they are. For the last two years, they've had no known address, no credit cards or phone records on their names. They just disappeared. Damnit, I could have thought of this much earlier if I hadn't been thinking about-" Nell stopped herself just in time.

"Thinking about? Nell?" Eric was looking at her face, his eyebrows cocked in a teasing manner as he was watching how her face grew red.

"Are you thinking naughty things?" He grinned when her cheeks turned a darker shade of red than her face.

She pushed him, and since he was sitting on a desk chair on wheels, he rolled sideways for about a meter, turning a bit and facing her more directly.

"You are!"

"Shut up! If I would have a drink, I would totally throw it in your face" Nell murmured embarrassed.

"No you wouldn't" Eric replied laughing, ducking away from another push.

"Oh stuff it, I have to tell the others about this."

She dialed the cell phone numbers and opened a line so she could talk to both Sam and G and Kensi and Deeks at the same time.

"Listen up guys, we have got some new information. Jason O'Dowd has two older half-brothers who have been AWOL for the last two years and are suspected of at least half a dozen of robberies and B&E's, a kidnapping and three rapes. I'll send you their pictures, meet Nicholas and Russell Demay."

"How is it possible that they have been AWOL for the last two years?" Callen's deep voice boomed over the line and Nell felt the heat that had slowly been retreating from her face return a bit.

"They cancelled every credit card they had and dumped their phones. We have no address and can assume they have been living under aliases as to not attract any attention to their names. We have been looking for them for quite a while now.."

"How does a well-respected officer as Jason O'Dowd get involved with all of this?" asked Kensi.

"Well, they are still his brothers.. Nick is three years older than Russell and Russell just a year and a half more than Jason. Nothing in the files suggest he had a very good relationship with his brothers, even while growing up with them, but he did try to help Russell with some trouble he got in while being a teenager. Even with the information in the files, he might have a concern for his brother.."

"Alright, thanks. We are going to the paintball venue to find out more about either of them, have a look around. Kensi and Deeks, just try and see what you can find on the brothers at the base.."

As if they were one person, everybody okay'd to Callen's words before the call was disconnected.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Sam and Callen pulled into the driveway of the paintball venue, located outside the city in a more wooded area. From what they could see, the terrain was quite big and the parking lot was pretty filled up as well with clients' cars.

Together, they walked inside the main building, where they were greeted by a desk with a young woman. She was holding a phone between her ear and shoulder, talking softly while typing quickly on the keyboard in front of her.

Without saying something, both pulled out their credentials and showed them to the woman, who looked up before squinting her eyes a bit while taking in the pictures and badges.

"Alright David, I'll call you back later. We have a situation here." Without any further notice she hung up the phone before looking up at the two men in front of her.

"Jessica Collins, what can I do for you?"

"We are looking for the person in charge here." Sam answered her question, before pulling out his one phone and browsing through his pictures.

"And have you seen any of these men ever before?"

He showed her the three pictures of the brothers.

"Take your time, I guess you see a lot of people passing through here every day."

The women looked at each picture for a few seconds before pointing at the one with Russell Demay.

"I remember this guy, he always stops to flirt with me before going to the back and get ready for his round. I have never seen the other two."

Callen looked sideways to Sam, both actually a bit surprised by getting an identification this easily.

"And when was the last time you saw him?"

To answer that question, she had to think a bit longer. The two agents waited patiently while the woman started counting on her hand and mumbling to herself, listing a party and two dinners she had been to.

"The last time I saw him was last week on Tuesday, if I am not mistaken.."

So the brothers had been in LA only the week before. That must have been quite risky for them.

They thanked the woman as she pointed them to an office in the back, reminding them that her boss wasn't in today but that their supervisor, Blake Taylor, was.

They walked past her desk as she picked up the phone, probably to call 'David' back and waited to be out of earshot before talking again.

"That is one out of three, but according to the psych evaluations, they never left each other to do something. They were as tightly-knit as possible, so we can only assume that Nick was around here somewhere as well. So Jason has two older brothers, one of which has been seen regularly in this paintball venue, and last night his blood was found in the home of the owner of this venue. What does that tell us?"

Callen smiled slightly and shook his head at Sam's words.

"Well, that Mr Walters might be a bit more suspicious than we first thought."

"Indeed"

Callen knocked on the door which had the supervisor's name on it.

"Come in!"

They entered the room and came face to face with a man from about 30 years old, with dark hair and dark eyes. He was holding a hammer in one hand and a picture frame of a woman with a baby in the other.

"You are cops, right?" He asked, before taking a nail to punch it in the wall.

"Special Agents Callen and Hanna, NCIS. We have got a few questions for you."

"Alright, that shouldn't be a problem." The man smiled and in his words Callen could make out a foreign accent. It sounded Spanish, but it was very faint.

"We assume you know about the break-in into your boss' house last night-"

"Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. Heard of it, terrible thing. Can't imagine it happening to me.." Blake Taylor stepped back from the wall and took his picture frame, that he put next to a few other pictures that were already hanging there.

"My wife just go a baby, a boy. It's the most amazing feeling.." He nodded his head before turning around again to the two agents in his office.

"So, as you are here to ask me a question and you haven't yet asked a question, I ask you now to ask me the question you have been wanting to ask. I don't have a lot of time, I need to go and check on equipment in a few minutes. We have a big group coming in tomorrow."

Callen frowned slightly at the long rumble of words that came out of his mouth, before shrugging slightly and showing the man the pictures of the brothers.

"Now, Miss Collins was so kind to tell us that this man has been here a few times already.." Callen showed him the picture of Russell Demay, closely watching Blake Taylor's reaction.

A front desk worker wouldn't be confined with a lot of 'secrets', but with the main supervisor they might have a bit more luck.

And they did, as Blake Taylor turned white as a sheet when he saw the pictures of the men, slightly stepping back before wildly shaking his head.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. Jessica must have been mistaken, I have never seen these men in my life!" He turned around and hurriedly put the hammer and nails away in a small box.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Sam stepped forward, putting both of his hands up as to make sure the man knew he wasn't a threat to him. Not directly anyway.

"Listen to me. We know that they are dangerous and I can understand that you want to protect your son. I have a kid of my own, I wouldn't want anything to happen to her. But if you don't help us, these brothers might go and hurt somebody else's kids. Would you want that to happen?"

For a few seconds, there was a complete silence in the room, until Taylor spoke again.

"That's just mean, going for my conscience. But you have to make sure they never knew it was me, or that they don't come after me and my family."

"Alright, we can do that. Nothing will happen to you."

For another few seconds the man seemed to think before finally turning around and looking for something. He mumbled something, before pulling out a slip of paper and handing it over to Sam.

"This is the address we have, that's all I know."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

"Can you see anything?"

Callen and Sam were sitting in Sam's car, waiting for Kensi and Deeks to arrive. Sam was folding his usual origami-animals from the candy wrappers, just finishing an elephant of blue paper while Callen just kept staring at the house.

"We have been here for only half an hour. For us it might look long, but inside somebody might have just taken a shower or cooked something, and for that person half an hour really isn't that long.." Sam said, shrugging his shoulder.

Callen just glanced sideways, his eyebrows arched in slight surprise.

"That might have been the most interesting thing you have said all day.."

"Hey, I say useful things all the time."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"When? Give me an example."

"Well, I told you that that candy is going to give you a heart attack very soon if you keep eating them and you know I am right, you just never listen."

"That wasn't useful. I happen to like them."

They kept on bantering while Kensi's car pulled up behind them and the agent and cop got out of their car. Kensi knocked on the window on Sam's side and the other two agents got out as well.

"Anything?"

"The house has been quieter than a terrarium filled with turtles."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Sam at his comment, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Bought one yesterday. Let me tell you this: nothing happens. Ever."

Callen shook his head and took the initiative again.

"We'll take the front, you two the back in case anybody runs."

Everybody nodded, agreeing to the plan before they each went their own way. Kensi and Deeks disappeared behind the house while Callen and Sam went for the front door.

Callen knocked. Nothing happened and he knocked again.

"NCIS, open up!"

Something fell and they could clearly hear the sound of breaking glass followed by the sound of somebody screaming.

They both pulled out their guns and looked at each other. Sam showed three fingers and started counting down. On zero, he kicked in the door and they both went inside the house.

"NCIS, nobody move!"

They entered an empty hallway and Callen stepped sideways to the left into a living room which was also empty. In the back he saw a door bang and he quickly moved forward.

"Guys, they are coming your way!"

He wanted to follow the man he saw through the door but was suddenly jumped from behind. He was thrown forward into the wall, his attacker not waiting for a second before moving in again and pushing him against the cold stones.

Callen started struggling, kicking backwards when he felt the cold metal of a gun in his neck.

"Stop it!" An unfamiliar voice shouted in his ear. He didn't really feel like listening and while he dropped and turned around at the same time, he heard gunshots in the back of the house, followed by shouting and a voice he recognized distantly as Deeks', laced with fear.

Suddenly his feet got a heavy kick and he fell to the ground, followed by a dark leather boot that stamped on his hand that was holding a gun.

He groaned slightly in pain before letting go and pushing himself sideways to avoid a next kick. He leaned backwards and kicked his attacker on the knees. He could see now that it was Russell who had come after him.

The kick sent him flying backwards, into the kitchen. He tried to grab a hold on the sink but missed and knocked over a knife block. The knives scattered on the floor and for a second the two men looked at each other. Then Callen threw himself forward, just as Russell did, both going for the knives.

Russell had been closer and got there faster. He scrambled upright which gave Callen the time he needed to grab a weapon of his own and ram it down in the leather boot.

Russell shouted in pain and lost the knife he had picked up, but managed to kick Callen straight in the face with his other foot before trying to pull the knife out of his own foot. Blood was spraying around, staining the floor.

Callen took the kick straight to the jaw and once again flew backwards, blood filling his mouth. He blinked groggily while trying to get up again. He didn't get enough time as Russell literally threw himself on top of him, pinning him to the ground. The man started punching him and Callen could see the rage that was filling his eyes.

"G!" Sam's voice sounded far away. He must have gone out through the back.

He tried to fight back but the kick in the face had made him slower, not reacting fast enough to get any advantage in the whole situation.

"You. Stupid. Idiot!" He could hear him say, shouting louder with every punch he delivered to his ribs. He felt one crack and groaned again. He had to do something.

When Russell took a two second pause to get some air in before continuing his actions, Callen tried to gather all his strength and moving his legs, he rolled them over.

Somehow, he managed to catch the other guy of guard and they rolled over. Callen went for a blow to the jaw.

His brain had kicked into survival-mode, just trying to get out of the situation alive and pushing back the agent in him that would just try to take the other guy out.

He went for another blow and pulled back his fist when he saw something silver-colored glitter from the corner of his eyes. Russell had managed to get hold of his knife again.

Before really registering what was happening, the man sunk the knife into his chest.

Surprise hit Callen when the cold, sharp metal slid easily into his flesh, tearing up everything on its path. His eyes went wide and he slumped down but got pushed away by Russell, who was getting up and holding on to the refrigerator because of the wound in his foot. He spat some blood on the floor.

Callen didn't move, he couldn't move. His hands were trying to get a feel on the knife, but he could barely raise his arms.

"G!"

He could hear gunshots, but they sounded more like champagne bottles being uncorked.

Next to him another body hit the floor and from his blurry vision he could recognize Russell's dead eyes staring at him.

They were a blueish green and slowly they started to blur as well.

"Damn it G. Common, stay with me here!" Sam had kneeled down beside him.

"Ambulances are on their way. Kensi got shot."

The words didn't really get through to him.

"G, just hold on!"

Slowly, the color of the eyes became a more hazel and the last thing he really saw was Nell's face before blacking out.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Thanks for reading! _


	8. Chapter 8: At the hospital

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So, once again a new chapter! Yes, I know I have gotten slower with my updates, but in my defense: the chapters do get longer. This chapter is also different because it features some hinted Densi-parts.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! There are a few readers who review with every chapter and you guys are amazing and I thank you immensely (and so should the other readers, it are often reviews that encourage a person to keep on writing!) I would just like to add that the last chapter has gotten me a lot of new Story Alerts, but barely any of these people left a review. I would appreciate it greatly if you would just take half a minute to leave a review for me and to give you guys some inspiration: What was your favourite part of this next chapter? Please let me now!

Now, on with the story!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

The phone rang.

Nell looked up from her screen. It was the phone on Eric's desk and she watched as her partner reached for it to answer the call. In the meanwhile, she turned back to her screen and continued looking into everything she had seen twice already. She just hoped there would be another clue that could help her somehow.

"What?"

Eric was typing furiously on his keyboard.

"Ambulance is on its way Deeks, they are four minutes out."

Nell looked up again from her screen. Something was different. They had been asked more often than not to send in an ambulance. . It might have been Eric's surprised exclamation, but something was different.

Eric's face scrunched up in irritation as Deeks said something on the other side of the line.

"They can't _fly_ Deeks, you know that. Just hold on and keep her alive."

Eric hung up before he quickly went with his fingers through his blond hair a few times.

"Kensi has been shot." He finally said, clarifying the phone call.

"I have to go and tell Hetty, I'll be right back." Without another word, Eric got up and left the command centre.

Nell stayed behind, alone, still staring at the place her partner had been standing a few seconds ago. Kensi had been _shot_? She bit her lip and turned around again, her thoughts suddenly clouded with worry.

She and Kensi were the only women on the team, next to Hetty. They had gone out a few times and Nell had unexpectedly found a friend in the tough special agent. They were so different in a lot of aspects and if they wouldn't be working together, they wouldn't even look twice at the other. It was as simple as that. And now her new-found friend had been shot.

Nell cursed slightly between her lips and pushed back a strand of hair that was obscuring her view. She just hoped Kensi would be alright, but in their line of work it wasn't always a given.

Nell sighed and shook her head, but her thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang again. She looked up to the machine before glancing to the doors. Eric was still gone and she quickly stood up and walked to his desk. In a swift move she sat down and pressed the button to answer the call.

"Eric, we are going to need another ambulance!"

It was Sam's voice, sounding stressed and frustrated and maybe, if Nell wasn't mistaken, she could hear a bit of fear as well. She started typing on the keyboard to get what he had asked for and could read the time it would need to arrive.

"Sam, it's going to be four minutes, you hear me?"

For a second long there was silence and then she heard him again.

"Damn it G, don't you dare passing out on me!"

Her heart fell when she heard these words. G? He had been hurt? In the background she could hear the sirens of the first ambulance that had arrived and the sound of people shouting at each other.

"Sam!"

She got no answer and started biting her lip again while her heart was thudding in her chest. What was happening? The only thing she could hear were heavy footsteps and muffled voices, all covered by the ambulance in the background.

"No, he's dead. At the back we have an agent down, she has been shot twice."

Sam sounded as if he would punch somebody if it would take any longer. Nell grimaced at the irony. They would need another ambulance to help the ambulance workers, that wouldn't be very useful.

"Nell?"

She jumped up when Sam's voice was suddenly loud and clear again.

"Sam! What happened!"

"Kensi has been shot and G got beat up and stabbed.."

Nell gasped slightly, her hand pressed to her open mouth. Shot, beat up and stabbed.

For a split second she saw G's face, she could imagine every small detail, every small stubble that would sometimes grace his cheek and every hue of fiery blue that was in his eyes. He always seemed so strong, so.. _invincible_ and yet he was somewhere in Los Angeles right now, getting help for his injuries.

Nell got ripped away from her thoughts when Sam spoke up just a second later.

"Nell, I got to go. I killed Russell Demay, the other two got away."

She nodded slightly at his words, before realizing only a moment later that he really couldn't see her.

"Yes, I'll send in a team to the crime scene." She said softly.

"Thanks."

With that last word, the line went dead. Nell kept staring in front of her, before slightly shaking herself awake.

She wouldn't be of any use to G and Kensi if she would keep doing like this. She got up again and walked to her own computer again. She would have to start working so they could track them, even if they didn't have any information on them yet.

Behind her, the doors slid open again and she turned around.

Eric and Hetty came in, talking quietly.

She would have to tell them what happened.

Nell coughed softly to get their attention and saw them look up.

"Sam called for another ambulance, G got beat up and stabbed." She said, her voice a bit shakier than she would have liked.

Her words were met by stunned silence.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Marty Deeks was worrying.

He couldn't believe he had let this happen to his partner. He should have had her back. Or, in this case, her front. They had gone for the back of the house in case the brothers would try and make a run for it so they could catch them.

" _20 bucks says that they are going to run for it." Deeks said, grinning sideways to his partner. _

_It was a given that she rolled her eyes before taking out her gun and steadying it in her hands. _

"_I am not-" She was interrupted when the back door flew open and Nicholas Demay and Jason O'Dowd came running out. _

_In the split second it took them to get their thoughts straight, they became the cop and agent they were trained to be. Deeks stepped to the side, away from the cover he had from a tree. _

"_LAPD! Show me your hands!" _

_His words had little effect on the two men, who simultaneously dove behind a huge barbeque standing next to the back door. _

"_Why don't these people ever listen" he grunted after throwing himself back behind the tree when he saw the muzzle of a gun come up behind their improvised shield. _

_Bullets flew around their heads, hitting more air than actual resistance. Yet, some of them hit home and blew scraps of wood everywhere. _

_Deeks pressed his back against the tree, his gun in both his hands and for a few seconds he took some deep breaths to steady himself. The flying bullets had put him on adrenaline, but if he wouldn't concentrate and use this to his advantage, he would be done for it. _

_Behind the tree next to him he saw his partner, standing much in the same pose as he was. _

_For a second, he let his eyes travel down her face. _

_Her different eyes were lit up with the same adrenaline rush he was feeling and she seemed to almost glow. Perfect, rosy lips were lifted up in a small smile and she turned her head so she could look at him. Her dark hair that had been pulled up in a messy ponytail was messier than ever because of the small strands that got pulled out by small branches. _

_She was breathtaking. _

_She smiled at him, before pointing to him and then to his left before pointing at herself and then to the right. _

_Deeks nodded, winked and then stepped to the left, looking for more cover so he could circle around unnoticed. _

_She was breathtaking and he would be damned if he would let something happen to her. _

"Marty, are you okay?"

Slowly, he looked up and saw their petite intelligence analyst standing in front of him with flowers in her hand.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

He looked terrible. Nell sighed when she finally got an answer out of their LAPD liaison. He had been staring at the wall in front of him, slumped down in his hospital seat.

"Yeah, I am fine."

He had been sitting there ever since they had brought Kensi into the hospital, before rushing her into operation so they could take out the bullet and sew her up.

According to the doctor, the bullet hadn't left any permanent damage and that she would be perfectly fine, but Deeks still looked as if she was dancing on the cliff which was death.

Nell sighed and slumped down next to him. They were still waiting for new information on G. He had been brought in a few minutes after Kensi, but he seemed definitely to be in a worse state than their female agent.

The stab wound and the beating had caused one of his lungs to collapse and he had a few cracked ribs.

"Kensi is going to be fine." She said softly, trying to give Deeks some comfort.

He didn't seem to hear her. He had gone back to staring at the wall in front of him and she could read the guild in his eyes.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_He was still diving to the left, before rolling up behind a new tree. His new position had brought him a bit further away from the men they were trying to catch, but Kensi would draw them out and he would go ahead and take them down. _

_They had done this hundreds of times. _

_He was just turning around, stepping forwards to reveal himself, when he heard gunshots. _

_He was too far away to do something, but he could see everything clearly unfold in front of him. _

_In the two seconds they had needed to take their new places, the two men had grabbed their chances and they bolted from behind the barbeque. _

_Kensi pulled the trigger but missed them, putting a bullet in the wall of the house. _

_The next second Nick Demay was holding his gun and pointed it at his partner, who had stepped into view to have a clear shot. _

_She tried to reel back, but a gun will always be faster than a human being. _

_It seemed to be happening in slow motion. _

_The gun fired and Deeks saw how Kensi's face turned determined and tough to one of utter shock and confusion. _

_She managed to pull the trigger of her gun one last time, taking Nick Demay in the shoulder, before letting the weapon fall from her fingers. _

"_No!" _

_Without thinking about it, Deeks lunged forwards. He ran across the small field, not even paying attention to the two crooks anymore. _

_All he could think about was Kensi. _

_A circle of red had appeared on her green cardigan, getting bigger and bigger as his partner kept losing blood. _

_He holstered his gun and crossed the field. Demay and O'Dowd disappeared between the trees, seeing a chance to escape when it presented itself. _

_Deeks sunk to his knees next to Kensi. _

"_Oh god, oh god, oh god. Just, let's keep the pressure on this.." _

_He pulled of his shirt and bundled it up in a ball before pressing it against the wound in her stomach. He looked up at her face, seeing the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen glance up at him. _

"_It's just a bullet.; Your survived it when you got shot, so I should definitely make it." _

_She smiled weakly before her eyelids started to flutter. _

"_It does fucking hurt.." _

_He pulled out his cell phone and called Eric. _

"_Eric! Kensi has been shot." _

"_What?" _

"_We need an ambulance." _

"_Ambulance is on its way Deeks, they are four minutes out." _

_Deeks cursed as he saw that Kensi was losing more and more blood. _

"_Damn it Eric, that's not fast enough!" _

"_They can't _fly_ Deeks, you know that. Just hold on and keep her alive." _

_He hung up again and put both his hands on the bundle that was his shirt to put more pressure on the wound. _

"_Deeks!" _

_Sam came running through the back door and came to a halt next to him. _

"_I've got this. Demay and O'Dowd got away." _

_The two men stared at each other for a brief second until the silence was interrupted by something crashing inside the house. _

_Without saying another word, Sam turned and ran back inside, gun in his hand. _

_Deeks turned back to Kensi. _

_She was fighting to keep her eyes open, he could see it. And it was getting more and more difficult for her every second that passed. Damn where was that ambulance. _

"_Come on Kens, you can do this. Just keep fighting, help is almost here." _

_He got a weak smile from his partner and one of her hands came up before resting on his own, red with her blood from the shirt he was holding. _

"_I am not going anywhere." _

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell looked around. She was still sitting next to Deeks, who was still stuck in his own world. Eric hadn't come, he was still at the command centre. They had gotten a call from the second team Nell had sent in and with their information they had started tracking the two brothers.

Demay had been shot as well. They didn't know how severe his wound was, but they were keeping an eye on the hospitals to be sure anyway.

On the traffic cams in the surrounding areas they hadn't immediately got a hit, but after running some software, they had found the two brothers on the street two blocks further.

So close and yet they escaped. They had disappeared again in the woods and had yet to be found.

It was frustrating, really.

After a while, Nell just couldn't concentrate anymore. They had only heard what she knew now and it was slowly driving her insane with worry. Kensi should be fine, as the doctors had told them, but it was G she was thinking about.

The only news they had heard, wasn't that optimistic and she kept imagining the worst-case scenarios. He might not recover or get some terrible condition, or he might just die in the end.

When her shift finally ended, she quickly made a run to a store and bought some flowers and card.

The flowers she was going to give to Kensi, obviously, but the card she had bought for G. When she arrived at the hospital, she soon found Sam and Deeks, waiting together in one of the smaller, separate waiting rooms.

Deeks had been sitting in his chair much as he was doing now and Sam was walking from one side of the room to the other one, to fired up to just sit down and wait.

While walking, he kept muttering words under his breath she couldn't understand, but guessing from the deep frown between his eyebrows and the set expression in his eyes, these things weren't very positive.

Nell sighed and with her fingers she trailer the petals orange and purple flowers she was holding.

"You can now see Miss Kensi Blye."

A doctor had appeared in the door opening, holding a clip board in his hands and reading something that was written on a piece of paper before finally looking up.

His words had woken up Deeks, who had jumped up from his chair.

"Where is she?"

Sam had stopped in his tracks and turned to the doctor. He came to stand next to Deeks and together they were doing a pretty good job at scaring the small man.

"Room 214. You can see her now, but afterwards she will need her rest to recover. We managed to pull out the bullet without to many problems. It hadn't splintered, hadn't even hit any bone and what damage it caused we restored. She will be fine."

Nell looked at Deeks, who somehow seemed to relax a bit with this news, before walking past the doctor and going straight for room 214.

Sam was following him, without saying a word to the doctor.

Nell sighed and shook her head.

"I am sorry for them, they are just worried. Thank you for everything doctor.."

The man seemed to appreciate a bit of humanity and he smiled at her before shrugging slightly.

"Lloyd. Doctor Lloyd. It's quite alright, we often get families and friends that are two worried to think about anything else."

Nell could understand this. And, to be honest, she didn't really like hospitals for that exact reason. There was too much worry and pain in one building.

"Thank you, again."

She walked passed him and followed her colleagues into room 214. Kensi was lying in a bed, her skin paler than normal and wearing one of those hospital get-ups. She was being hugged by Sam, although Nell could see a slight hint of fatigue in her friend's eyes.

Deeks had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to the bed, already settling in as if twenty horses would be needed to get him away from his partner.

"Hey Kens" Nell said with a smile while walking to her friend. Sam was stepping back and Nell gave her the flowers.

"You know, now you are in a hospital, I just needed to get you flowers."

"Thank you Nell, they are beautiful." Even now, Kensi sounded weak. She was probably tired from the operation and the whole 'being shot' part of the story.

Nell smiled and took the empty vase from the nightstand and put the flowers in them.

"I am going to put some water in these, I'll be right back."

She left the room and walked to the first tap she could find, turning it until the water was lukewarm and filled the vase with it. For a second, she sighed, before walking back again.

Kensi was going to be fine. She would just need her rest and then she would soon be back and together they would finish those bastards that had done this to their small family.

With the vase in her hand, she walked back to the room. Inside, Doctor Lloyd had returned with more news.

"G Callen has just been put in the room across the hall, room 215. You can go and see him."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

His head hurt.

Damn, his head hurt.

Callen groaned as slowly he started to regain consciousness.

He was lying in a bed in a room that was so clearly decorated in the 'hospital-style' that he groaned again.

He tried lifting his hand, but saw then that there was a needle stuck in his bloodstream, probably with some kind of medicine. He lifted, with some difficulty, his other hand and pulled it out before trying to sit up straight. Only then he noticed that wasn't the only thing connecting him to medicine or machinery.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest and he slumped back down on the bed.

That must have been the knife wound. He wasn't wearing shirt and his chest was wrapped up partially with white bandages. He stared at them for a moment, before sighing and closing his eyes.

He didn't get a lot of rest though, as the door burst open and his partner came into the room.

Sam grinned when he saw his partner alive and well and walked to the bed.

"Damn G, you cut it pretty damn close there you know."

Callen looked at him for a few seconds, before shaking his head slightly.

"Well, it's not like he asked for any permission to use me as his personal pincushion. But thanks Sam, for having my back."

"Yeah, and this has got us even for the thing that happened in Belize last year."

"No way! In Belize, I had to take out four men because you had been made and then we had to hide in old hay so we wouldn't get caught, how is that for traumatizing."

The two men looked at each other for a few seconds, before smiling both.

"But thanks Sam, really."

The other man nodded before gesturing to the hallway.

"Kensi is in the other room. She got out of the operation a few minutes ago and she's tired, but she's going to live."

"And the brothers?"

Callen could remember staring into Russell Demay's empty face as the were lying next to each other on the kitchen floor, one alive and one dead.

"They got away. Deeks was a bit.. preoccupied."

Sam sounded a bit frustrated.

"We could have had them, hadn't they shot Kensi. But we will get them. Especially after all of this." He gestured widely, meaning everything that had happened to them.

A soft knock on the door interrupted them however.

Both men looked up from their conversation and saw Nell standing in the door opening. She smiled hesitantly and Callen felt his eyes being sucked towards the petite woman.

"Sam, Kensi is asking for you.." She said softly, never looking straightly at the man in the hospital bed.

Sam nodded before looking back to his partner.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," He started while walking to the door.

"Nell, will you look after him for a sec?"

"Sure."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Sam left the room and Nell was left alone with G.

She hadn't dared really looking at him and slowly, she turned her eyes in his direction.

Shock must have clearly shown on her face when she took in the sight in front of her, as he sighed and made a weak gesture with his hand.

"Honestly, I am fine."

He most definitely wasn't. He was lying in the hospital bed, the sheets pulled up over his hips. He wasn't wearing the hospital gown like Kensi, but his torso was covered in white bandages. She could only imagine what it looked like underneath, carved open by a knife. However, his broad shoulders weren't covered and she could definitely see the elegant muscle stretching his skin and showing his strength.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"

Her thoughts were interrupted when G finally spoke and her cheeks flushed a crimson red.

"Of course not." She muttered under her breath, slightly embarrassed at being caught in her peeking.

She walked to the bed and sat on the edge as there wasn't really a chair available.

"How are you feeling?"

Now she was closer, she got a better look at his face. He was pale as well and she could see dark circles under his eyes. Some stitches were holding together a cut over his eyebrow and some bruises were showing on his cheek and down his neck bracing on the collar bone.

"You look terrible."

"You should see the other guy." She looked up by his words, a bit surprised at the typical response to her words, before smiling sadly.

For a few seconds, they just looked each other in the eye, blue meeting hazel, before Nell looked away, breaking the eye contact.

"Do you know how long you are staying here?"

Seeing him like this, so injured, made her feel more upset than it should.

All she wanted was take him somewhere away from everything and everybody and take care of him until he would feel better again.

"Not really, but I am guessing a few days." He spoke softly and she looked up again.

He was still looking at her and she felt the blush rise to her face again. Quickly, she pulled her bag on her lap and started searching for the card she had bought.

Slowly, she pulled the bright blue envelope out and held it out to him.

"What is this?"

"Well, when somebody you care about is in the hospital, you usually go and visit them and you bring them something. I don't think you would have really appreciated flowers, so I bought you a get well card."

She looked at him tentatively, not entirely sure what to expect from him.

He just stared at the envelope.

"You are supposed to open it." She remarked, suddenly smiling.

He didn't say anything and slowly his fingers opened the envelope, pulling out a small card.

On the front there was a small drawing of a cute puppy that seemed to be coughing. Next to it were typed the words _Feeling like a sick puppy? Get well soon!_

It was a terrible card, but of the choice she had had, it was the best Nell could find.

"They were out of cards saying 'Stabbed by the bad guy? Go get them!'" She remarked nonchalantly.

G looked up at her for a second, before stifling a laugh.

He turned the card around. On the back, she had written a few words.

_Get well soon, we'll need you in the office.  
Nell _

She had never been a person to sign a card with x's.

She waited silently as he studied the words. Finally, he looked up at her and with his free hand he took one of hers and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you Nell."

"Always G."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review! _


	9. Chapter 9: Home

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **I know, I know, it has literally been AGES. I am so sorry, I let it get out of hand. I moved back home and then I moved out again and now I have started at Uni and it is INSANE but I am going to try and get a next chapter up much sooner.

And I would like to add for you readers that I like taking it slow and there is still some stuff that has to happen for this story to end. I have a general plot line, we are going to see the brother again and somewhere in the future there is a party! So yes, it might be a slow story, but that's the way I write.

And just a big THANK YOU to the people that have reviewed every chapter up until now and all the new people that left a small note with the last chapter. You people are amazing and literally inspire me to keep writing! I really don't want to leave you with an unfinished story so I am going to do my best not to.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell got out of her car, locked the doors and crossed the parking area to the front entrance of the hospital. Sun was setting and the normally white building was colored pink and orange with the last rays of the sun.

It had been a while ago that G and Kensi had been sent to the hospital with their injuries and she tried to visit them regularly. It had gotten quite easy to walk into G's room, sit down and just tell him what had been going on at the office that day.

He wouldn't complain about being in the hospital, but he didn't like it one bit. She saw it in the way he moved, the way he glanced to the door and the look in his eyes when somebody told him that he would be "back soon enough". He hated it. He hated all of it.

So after two visits, she started bringing him small things to keep him busy. Books, puzzles, some DVDs and after a while she brought some snacks as well.

It became a routine rather quickly, even if there was something that didn't seem to fit quite correctly.

Today was no exception. She had a Russian spy novel in her handbag and was holding a paper bag filled with jam doughnuts from around the corner, the ones she knew he loves the most.

Nell walked past the help desk to the elevator, taking it up three floors and leaving it to go towards the room he had been in for the last few days.

It had been rather strange, now she thought of it. G had always had this image of being indestructible and now he had been injured quite badly.

Even when he started to look better every day, she couldn't get the image of him completely beat up and broken out of her mind.

She tried not to show him how worried she was about him, knowing it might be too.. Too what, even? Too protective? She knew he didn't need protection and the idea that if he did, _she_ could be the one to offer him this protection was laughable. Was she being too controlling, visiting him all this time?

Something had changed over the last few days. In the beginning, G had been very talkative, for his being then, but lately he had been quieter and it was almost as if he was waiting for her to leave.

He would of course never say such a thing. Let's just say it her womaney senses were tingling.

Nell rounded the last corner, shaking her head slightly, before stopping when she saw G standing at the small desk of that floor, talking to a nurse.

He was wearing the clothing in which he had been shot, since nobody had ever brought him normal clothing. He did have some pyjama's, but once he would get the all clear to leave they had agreed that somebody would bring him some clean clothes.

Now, he was just standing there, a bag in his hand with his other belongings while he was favouring the side where he had been stabbed.

Slowly, Nell started walking in his direction, just as he signed some papers and turning around towards the elevator.

He froze when he saw her standing there and for a moment, he even had the decency to look just a bit ashamed.

"Nell, what are you doing here?"

The analyst shook her head slightly before holding up the bag filled with the jam doughnuts.

"Visiting you." _You idiot_.

"They are letting you go?"

"Yes, they just told me this morning so I thought I could just go home."

And not telling everybody about this, obviously.

He started walking towards her, in the direction of the elevators and once he was standing next to her she turned around and walked with him.

Neither of them said anything while he pushed the button to go down and they waited for the elevator to come.

It was an awkward silence.

For some reason, Nell felt hurt for him not telling them that he would be going home.

Scratch that. She was feeling hurt because he hadn't told _her_ he was going home. But he had already been very distant lately, what had she expected?

He had never really been the guy to ask for help when he thought he could do something on his own.

The elevator binged and the doors slid open after which they stepped inside the empty cabin, her pressing the button to go down and to the exit.

"Nell, it's just-"

"Do you even have a ride home?" She interrupted him, glancing sideways to look at him.

He was standing next to her, looking back at her with a tired expression in his eyes.

"No, I don't. I was going to get a cab."

"I'm taking you home."

"Nell, you really don't have to-"

"G, listen to me. You have just been discharged and you are walking around looking like an axe murderer. No cab would take you, I am driving you home."

And that was the end of it. They both knew it and silence returned.

They reached their floor and left the elevators, going straight outside.

It was a strange sight, with this rather tall man who looked like he could handle everything and take down any opponent who was following a woman who was a fair bit smaller than he was but had the fire in her heart and the strength in her soul to make him listen just for once.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

He felt like crap. A big, stinking, bloody pile of crap.

G was sitting in the front seat, next to Nell who was driving through town towards his house.

He wasn't used to sitting in a car which was this small, not really allowing him to stretch his legs in any way and practically forcing him to keep his arms pressed to his torso.

He had put the chair back as far as he could, but it hadn't really made a difference.

Nell hadn't said a word, except for asking him for his address. She had never been to his house, nor had any of the others for that matter except for Sam, and he had told her with just a bit of reluctance.

He glanced sideways and studies her face for a while.

She had lost a bit of her usual colour and her knuckles were white for the way she was gripping the steering wheel.

For some reason, she looked angry and tired and frustrated, and he just knew that it was because of him.

After the stabbing, he had had plenty of time to think about things in the hospital, and he had come to a conclusion.

He had to take some distance.

With everything that had happened between them, he couldn't deny that he was incredibly distracted to her, in ways he wasn't really used to.

She cared about him in a way nobody had ever really done before and he had to create some distance, and fast.

So he had started being more distant, hoping it would make her realise they had no business being friends. Or anything else.

And it had worked, in a way. The first time he had tried it, he had seen the hurt in her eyes and almost taken back the words he had said that time. Yet she didn't stop coming.

Every time, she brought something else for him to keep him busy or to entertain him and he just didn't understand.

Why wouldn't she go away?

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

The entire drive had been silent. It was unnerving and frustrating, and being the person she was she had to force herself not to talk.

This time, she wouldn't be the first to break the silence. This time, it could be him to do this.

But he didn't, and she started to feel like he didn't want to anymore.

She bit her lip and turned the corner for his street, looking for the correct house number.

"It's here on the right."

G pointed to the house they were driving past and she parked the car, before turning off the engine and getting out of the car.

She was already opening the trunk and getting out G's bag when he joined her at the back of the car, taking the bag from her.

"Thanks for the ride home." He said, after which he turned around to walk towards the house.

"Oh no you don't." Nell murmured, after which she locked the car and followed him to the front door.

The sun had almost completely set now and the first stars were already starting to show on this clear night.

He stood still at the front door, taking out his keys before turning around and looking at her.

She was standing on the path to the front doors, her hands on her hips and a daring glare in her eyes.

"Nell, just go home. You already gave me a ride, I'll be fine. You don't have to do anything else."

In response, she just shook her head before walking towards him.

"No, and this time you are going to listen to me. You have been stabbed and beat up, you have been in the hospital for quite a while now and the doctors say you still need rest. Yes, you are a grown man and I know what you are capable of, I am not an idiot. But, for some reason, I am your friend. At least, I think I am. And as a friend, I am going to help you, whether you want to or not. Because that's what you do when you care about somebody. Even if that somebody has been a total ass lately."

He seemed to look guilty because of her words, but it could also have just been her imagination wanting him to feel guilty, wanting him to know he had hurt her. But she ignored it and stood still next to him.

He hadn't said a word.

"Alright, how about we go inside?"

That shook him awake and G opened the door so they could enter the house.

Nell tried to hide her surprise when she saw that he barely had any furniture inside and while G closed and locked the door behind her she looked around.

He had already disappeared through another door and she heard him walking around through the house.

She realised he was doing a security check and started wondering whether he had realised he was doing it or not.

In the meantime, she had a look around.

There was a chair standing in what could have been a living room and next to it, on the floor, was laying a matrass. It actually looked quite dusty, probably because nobody had been here while he had been in the hospital.

"I don't have much to eat in house."

G's voice startled her and she turned around to where he was standing behind her.

"That's alright, I'll go and have a look what you have."

It was quite late already and he looked really tired.

"You should try to get at least some sleep tonight."

Nell walked towards the door through which she could see the kitchen where she put her bag on the counter, together with the bag with the jam doughnuts she had brought inside with her.

Then, she started going through the fridge to see if he had anything at all.

She had this feeling that there wouldn't be a lot left without extra life forms grown on top of them.

Somehow though, she managed to find a carrot, a potato and some suspicious vermicelli.

G had followed her into the kitchen and was standing in the door opening, watching her.

"You should go and have a shower and I'll try to make something to eat."

In response, he merely nodded before disappearing again and Nell sighed before she got to work.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G Callen closed his eyes while the hot water hit his battered body. It felt good, the steam coming up around him and the water soothing him, dulling the pain away.

He put his hands on the still very cold tiles in front of him and closed his eyes, indulging the feeling of complete solitude.

For the first time since he had been injured, every thought left his mind and the only thing he noticed was the water hitting his skin.

It felt good, relaxing and not _thinking_ for a while.

He had had too much time lately, to think.

With a sigh, G closed his eyes before turning his face towards the showerhead. The warmth burned his cheeks and eyelids, but he didn't turn away until it did hurt.

He had made everything way too complicated. Better yet, he had let everything get way too complicated.

And now, for some reason, he would have to go downstairs and face the redheaded woman in his kitchen who was cooking something to eat.

Could she even cook?

He leaned with his forehead against the still very cold tiles and let the water touch his back.

He had tried to keep her at a distance, but look how that had worked out for him. She was fairly pissed off right now. He still didn't know what to really think about it.

If Deeks would have heard her earlier, outside, he would probably have imitated the sound of a whip just to emphasize exactly how badly he had been put in a corner by this woman who had barged into his house and wouldn't take no for an answer.

He was an idiot.

He was a big, bullheaded, brainless idiot. And, if he had to admit it, she had taken him by surprise.

He hadn't thought that she would be able to emit this anger, this fierce loyalty or this immensely hot sexiness.

He groaned slightly and took some soap to wash himself.

He had to stop thinking about her like that. It didn't really help either of them.

Once he would get downstairs, he would tell her that he would be fine and that she could go home.

And maybe, somewhere deep inside, a very small, dark part of him wanted her to say again that she cared.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Somehow, Nell had managed to make some soup with everything she had found in the kitchen that had still been edible.

It was quiet while she worked and in the end, she left the soup on the stove so it would stay warm.

In the meantime, she wandered to the living room and looked at the armchair and the matrass. There were more things and she had to suppress her curiosity to investigate. Some things were better left private and she didn't want to anger G more when he would come downstairs.

If there was one thing she knew, it was that she knew he preferred his solitude and his privacy.

By now, she had started feeling bad about the things she had said to him as well.

He had been having a hard time, with the injuries and being restricted to his room in the hospital.

A noise in the hallway startled her and she turned around, only to see G standing in a clean set of clothes. He looked much better now he had had a shower.

He didn't just look cleaner, he also looked more relaxed.

"I made some soup, it's in the kitchen. Just have some."

He nodded in response and disappeared to the kitchen. Slowly, she followed him and waited while he filled two bowls with the hot dinner and handed one to her. He grabbed some spoons as well and together they walked to the living room, where he sat on the matrass and gestured that she could sit in the chair.

In silence, they ate their soup.

"This is.. quite good.." Nell looked up when she heard G talk before smiling slightly.

"It's not too much, I did what I could with what you had in the kitchen."

He nodded slightly, staring at his soup as if it was something he had never seen before.

"It's just some homemade soup G, nothing special."

He nodded again before looking up at her and for the first time in a long while, the corners of his mouth were slightly tilted upwards.

"It is though."

For a few seconds, they just looked at each other until Nell felt the heat on her cheeks and she looked down at her soup again.

This was quite ridiculous.

She finished her soup and got up to bring her cup back to the kitchen. G was done as well so she took his bowl with her to do the washing up.

He followed her to the kitchen to dry them.

"You know, I'll be fine. If you want to go home, you can."

She looked up before filling the sink with hot water.

"I'll make a cup of tea and we can have one of those doughnuts, and then I will go." If he really wanted her to be gone.

He put the kettle on and while the water was heated, they did the dishes.

He put everything back while she took two other cups and put some tea bags in them before filling them with water.

Together with their tea and the doughnuts, they returned to the living room where they sat back where they had been sitting before.

They drank their tea and ate the doughnuts, slowly getting more at ease.

"So, do you know when you are coming back?" She asked him, at which he shrugged slightly and took another bite of his doughnut.

"Not yet. It will be some days still I guess, with that I have to rest, as the doctor told me."

"Yeah.. We got a new case today. We got into a lot of trouble with the French Intelligence on this one, again."

They both smiled and they chatted about work, old and new cases until the tea was finished and it had gotten quite late.

Nell had put the empty cup on the floor and pulled up her legs on the armchair, her arms folded around herself.

She was leaning against the elbow rest, her eyes drooping slowly while their conversation had longer and longer gaps in between.

She had gotten up that morning at six, had had a very intensive day at work and come to visit him at the hospital afterwards. She was knackered and slowly, she drifted into sleep.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G watched as he saw Nell slowly fall asleep. Her head was bobbing slightly and now that she was relaxed and out, he realised how tired she looked.

Her normally pale complexion was even paler than usual and she had bags under her eyes.

He sighed and quietly, he got up.

Without making a sound, he walked to the chair and softly, he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. She moved slightly, but didn't wake.

Somehow, he couldn't wake her.

Carefully, he ducked besides her and slid his arms under her small frame and he lifted her from the chair.

His chest stung slightly, but she was as light as a feather in his arms.

He shifted his position to hold her better, his arms hooked under her knees and his other arm holding her back and started stepping to the matrass when she shifted.

He froze because of the movement, but she just snuggled against his chest, pressing her face against his neck and sliding an arm around his neck.

He felt her breathing caress his skin and his breath hitched slightly. He looked down at her pixie-like face to see that she was still sleeping.

Her hair was sticking up slightly and the faint scent of apples reached his nose.

Slowly, he lowered her onto the matrass and carefully, he tried to put her down but she kept holding on to him, by now bother her arms folded around his neck and pressing herself against him.

He brought one hand up to take one of her, much smaller, hands into his and unwinding it from his neck.

"No.. Hmm, no.." She protested sleepily, but raising the hairs in his neck and sending a jolt through him when he realised how seductive her voice was when she was half asleep.

"Shh, Nell. It's alright, you are just going to sleep a bit."

He put her down on the matrass, going along with the movement so she was lying on her back and he was bent over her, his face mere centimetres from hers.

For a second he studied how her eyelashes lay against her cheeks as she didn't move again before taking her other hand from his neck.

"No, G! No.." She protested this time, a lot clearer, and gripping onto his hands.

He froze again, he didn't even dare to breath. But she was still asleep, wasn't she? Or was she aware of what was going on, even in the slightest way?

He felt her breath hit his cheek and his eyes wandered to her lips. For a moment he was tempted, just to try, just to know but when he realised what exactly he was doing, he jolted back.

It didn't wake her and once he stepped away, she lay on her side and curled up a bit. He drew a blanket over her and looked at her for one last second before leaving the room.

He needed some fresh air, urgently.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_So once again, sorry for this immensely late update and I hope you can enjoy this chapter. I have a bit of a double feeling about it, but quite like the ending myself. _

_Please let me know! _


	10. Chapter 10: A Party?

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **Chapter 10 already!So, another update, already! I know this chapter doesn't have a lot of interaction and are actually three different parts but oh well. All are sort of important to what I have planned for the story.

And a big thank you to

Shestarsky: I totally agree, but most of all because G just doesn't know what he really wants. But he'll get there in the end!

Angelus 320: Thank you for the lovely update! I do apologize because this chapter doesn't have the intensity as the last one, but sometimes I have to build up a situation before I can let them get close again. And this was quite a quick update, if I do say so myself. And we might get a bit of a jealous Callen in the next chapter, but I am not promising anything!

Angelscatie: He's not too sure no, but I am blaming it partly on the fact that he has been stabbed and wasn't in the best of mindsets. To me, it swayed between not caring and not wanting to get too angry. But that was then, things will change again. Thank you for your review!

A and K: Haha, and if I have to be honest I am quite looking forward to writing that bit, but not just yet.. Thank you for the review!

Desnouer: I am glad you liked it and thank you for reviewing. In this chapter, nothing big really happens, but later on there will be more.

Sterling36: Thank you for the review and I hope you will keep enjoying the story!

Paul0108: And I am very sorry still it has taken this long for an update! I will try to not let this happen again, but I am getting down to how I am going to let this end. I have never had a talent for planning a story.

Jmlane1966: Thank you for your review, it really made my smile! I hope when you get further in the story, you will like it as much as the first chapter (I do sometimes think that a story can deteriorate after a first chapter..). English is more or less my second language, but some things I think I'll never get right. Practice, practice, practice I guess!

Shaz1: Thank you for your review, I hope you will like what is still to come!

So, I felt for once I wanted to reply to every review I got for this chapter. Now, enjoy the chapter!

**~~~|G|O|S| ~~~**

The light of the rising sun shone into her eyes while Nell was still fast asleep on the mattress in the living room.

She mumbled something in protest and turned around, trying to get away from the light that was taking away her rest.

A wool blanket was covering her, keeping her warm in the cold morning and surrounding her with the very strong scent of _man. _

She relaxed again and snuggled closer against the cushion.

It wasn't just a male scent, it was something she recognized. Musky and strong and dark.

Instinctively, she was searching for the warmth of another body next to her, but didn't find one.

This caused her to finally wake up, recognizing the feeling of waking up surrounded by everything that hinted the presence of a man but him not actually being there.

It had happened before, when a guy she had trusted had left her in the night and for a moment, her heart feared a repeat of the some event.

She opened her eyes, only to realize that she was still in G's living room, laying on a mattress on the floor where the rays of the sun just reached her through the open window.

The man himself was nowhere to be seen and she groaned while she let her head fall back on the pillow.

She must have drifted off somewhere during their talk last night and he, being the person he was, had put her on the mattress. At least, that's must have been what happened because she didn't remember a thing after she had fallen asleep.

But where had he slept then? Not in the chair, or had he?

Suddenly, her senses were attacked with a smell of fresh food and she jolted up again, only then noticing the feeling of hunger in her stomach.

Slowly, she got up and with her fingers she combed through her hair, knowing what it looked like after a night's sleep.

Usually, she would be able to tame it just right, but sometimes it would just stand up the next morning.

She really had the typical "pillow-head".

She did a last effort to straighten her hair and rubbed in her eyes, hoping that her mascara from yesterday hadn't gone and smudged her face.

She pushed herself on her feet and stretched once before going in search for the bathroom. In the mirror, she saw that her hair had become presentable and she thanked the heavens and every deity she knew for looking presentable.

Why?

Because even now, she didn't want G to see her in a bad state. She did have some pride in her and you didn't go looking like hell to say good morning to a very attractive man.

Then, she followed her nose back to the kitchen, where G was standing at the stove with his back to her and baking something.

He was humming a song, which she recognised from the CD she had bought him and a smile lifted her lips.

She did try to tone it down a bit, since she probably looked like an idiot.

"Good morning Nell." G said, interrupting her train of thoughts.

And she had thought she had been quiet enough for him not to hear her.

"Good morning G."

She stepped closer and tried to peek into the pan past his broad shoulders. He was just too tall for her to have a good view on the pans he was practically hiding, but it smelt like eggs.

He stepped aside for her to see what he was doing and she saw bacon and eggs, almost done for breakfast.

"Sleep well?"

He glanced sideways and she looked up in his eyes. Blue met hazel and she nodded in reply.

"Yes, I did. But you didn't have to put me on the mattress, I would have been perfectly fine sleeping in the chair as well."

And she was a lot smaller than he was, it would have been much more comfortable for her than it could ever be for him.

He shrugged in answer, but didn't say anything about her remark.

"You?"

"I slept alright. You ready for some breakfast?"

She nodded and started looking for some plates to help him.

**~~~|G|O|S| ~~~**

After he had put her on the mattress last night, G had gone outside to get some fresh air and realised one thing.

He would never be able to get the distance between them he thought he wanted.

She said she cared about him, and he realised he cared about her.

Pushing her away would only make her angry, as she had proven the evening before.

So, he would take care like a friend and they could go on living their lives like the friends they were.

That morning he had left the house early to go to a shop nearby and get some food for breakfast. He had ended up buying not only eggs and bacon, but also some fresh fruit, bread, yoghurt and even some orange juice they made locally.

He didn't want to end up, like the evening before, having nothing in his kitchen they could use to eat.

After Nell had put the plates ready for him to just put the food on them, she took some glasses for the juice and grabbed an apple from which she took a fresh bite.

Munching on the fruit, she waited for him to finish cooking and after a few more seconds he slid the eggs and bacon on the two plates which she had prepared with some bread.

He turned off the gas and picked up the two plates before walking outside, where in his garden he had a table and three chairs.

They had already been there when he had gotten the house and had never really bothered to remove them, most of all because he found he quite liked it to sit outside at night when he couldn't sleep.

He put the plates down and gestured to Nell, who had followed him with the glasses and the cutlery she should take a seat.

She did and he sat across from her.

"I guess you have to go to work later?"

He looked up while taking his knife and fork and cutting apart his eggs and bacon so he could eat.

She was doing the same while nodding in response to his question.

"Yes, although I don't have to be there as early as usual. We have been working quite hard lately so Hetty told us to take the morning off before coming back again."

"Hmm, she'll want her best people to work the best they can.." He said softly.

Nell looked up before shrugging slightly.

"It's a bit strange without you, you know. Sam has taken over the Senior Agent responsibilities until you get back, but everybody has to get used to it."

He chuckled slightly.

"Well, Sam isn't too bad. Imagine if, for some reason or strange mix-up, Deeks would be your team leader for a while."

Nell laughed at his words before picking up her glass of juice and sipping slightly.

"I can already see it happen. He would come up with these code names for everything, for one thing. And tease Kensi to death as well, I guess."

"It would open a whole new world."

They both laughed again.

**~~~|G|O|S| ~~~ **

About a week later, Nell was running a background check in the operations centre on a corporal from the Navy who had been killed in a hit and run to find out any information she could.

When running through his phone records, she found something peculiar.

Scanning the lists of numbers that were still being conversed to names, she saw a number that looked familiar, yet she couldn't place it.

Cursing slightly, she squinted at it, trying to see if she could remember when she suddenly realized where she had seen it before.

"Aha! AHA!"

She jumped up from the chair she had been sitting in and transferred her information to the big screen, holding her tablet to make it easier for her to skim through the lists.

"Nell, what did you find?"

Eric was still sitting at his desk and looking at her while she kept going faster and faster searching for the information she needed.

She jumped from phone records to the history in the services and since she knew what she was looking for, she flew through the information so fast nobody except for her could follow what she was doing.

"AHA!"

"Are you just going to keep shouting 'Aha' or are you actually going to share the information you found?" Eric asked with a grin.

"This corporal, Thomas Kerry, he was in Iraq with the trio of brothers we had a run in with a while back. Jason O'Dowd and Nicholas and Russell Demay, right?"

"Yes?"

"Nicholas and Jason were in the same unit for quite a long time and he was their commanding officer. When Jason supposedly 'died', Russell got transferred to their unit. He knows all three brothers. But, and it's a very big but, in his phone records it shows that he has made calls with a burner phone that has been connected to Jason O'Dowd once he got back home."

"So he knew Jason wasn't dead?"

"Probably. I have to go and tell Hetty."

And, without uttering another word, she ran from the operations centre to tell her boss.

In her mind, she was already thinking of ways to connect to corporal to the missing brothers. A small voice came up, also mentioning it was quite the coincidence for his death to occur this close to the exposure the youngest brother not being dead at all.

It was a lead on something they had been trying to work on without having a lot of results.

**~~~|G|O|S| ~~~**

"At first, she wanted to throw a party, but I managed to convince her not to."

Sam groaned and lifted the weights he was working on for another go.

"So? What is going to happen now?"

G stopped the punching ball from swaying left and right and looked to his partner. It was the first day he had come back to the office. He was still not really allowed to do any work, so he had gone to the gym with his partner to do some works. He wasn't punching too hard and working on balancing his strength because his right arm wasn't as strong as the left, this being the side where he had been stabbed.

"She won't let it go easily this time."

"I know, which is exactly why this is a problem. My birthday is coming up in two weeks and she is almost obsessed with it. Suddenly, it is huge deal!"

"Alright. But what did she come up with then?"

The ball was hanging still so G stretched his fingers before he would go back to hitting the fabric. His side wasn't aching as much as a week ago, which was good news.

A sigh from his partner made him wait for another few seconds though.

"My dear wife has come up with the idea to invite my 'co-workers' to the opening of this new art show at some museum. She is organizing the event with her company, so she has some extra tickets and asked me to give them to some friends at work."

For a moment, G stared at his partner before laughing silently.

"That is what all the drama is about? You would think it was something much worse."

Well, it being something open might be a small problem.

"So, what is going to happen if you don't want to listen to your wife?"

"Har har, very funny. It doesn't even really matter. It has been quite a while ago that we did something together and she is really excited about this. And then, with my birthday coming up, it's like the best occasion. That, together with the fact that _somebody_ –" at that, he glared even more at his partner "-has apparently been humming some song while she was standing next to that _anonymous_ person. And that _somebody_ somehow ended up telling her it was from a CD which had been a present from some woman from work. What the hell is going on here G?"

G blinked for a second in surprise at his partner, before shaking his head nonchalantly.

"Nothing is going on here. It was just some music."

Well, not entirely true. He had been at Sam's house some while ago and was helping Rachel, his wife, cleaning up after dinner when he had started humming one of the songs from the CD. Being the perceptive woman she was, Rachel had instantly picked up on it and started asking him questions about it.

It had felt like a third degree interview, where there were only few good answers.

But, she had been so happy when he told her the CD had been a gift from a friend who was a woman that he hadn't really thought about it much.

"What woman did you get a CD from, G?"

He shook his head slightly and pushed the ball away from him before punching it when it came back, swaying slightly.

"It's nothing special, alright? But now, what happened?"

He got another suspicious glare from his partner before he caved and started lifting the weights again.

"Somehow, she got into her mind she would like to meet some other co-workers, so I am to invite the others to this opening thing. But it won't be too direct and she is rooting for a night off for me.."

"Oh yes, because a night off would be the end of the world."

**~~~|G|O|S| ~~~**

_So, I know it might be slightly out of character for Sam's wife to be this involved, but I feel it is needed for the story. It's obviously not completely canon (duh) and she will be introduced to you at the opening! _

_Please leave a review and until the next time! _


	11. Chapter 11: An Invitation

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **A third new chapter already after the big silence, I feel like I am kind of making up to you guys. And how about we try to go for the 100 reviews? I think that would be an amazing achievement! And, for those who remember me thinking about a dream for G or Nell, I have been thinking some more and after G having his dream I think it is time Nell got hers.

Now, thank you all for the reviews and the favourites and all the people following the story. You are all amazing for letting me know you enjoy what I am writing.

Shestarsky: I am actually quite looking forward to doing something with Sam's wife. And the song he is humming, I will have to get back to you about that. For now, I am mostly looking at the CD he has gotten from Nell. Before that, he didn't really listen to music and that CD is what actually got him started with it. But, I'll get back to you!

Desnouer: Thank you! This chapter only really gets to a bit of Nallen more to the end, but that's something I am going to work with in the next chapter.

Shaz1: And thank you for your review! I guess G felt kind of guilty for being a bit grumpy.

Angelscatie: He might have realized it, but he will still more or less have to accept it. Thank you for the review!

Kath46: An author loves hearing that! Do you maybe have some tips or things you have noticed while reading, since you read everything in a short period of time? Thank you for your review!

Stargazer22123: Thank you so much for your review! (Really, quite the compliment there) I hope you will enjoy the rest of the story as well.

And now, on with the story!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

After Nell had told Hetty about the discovery she had made, she got the task to keep looking into the four men to see if she could find more connections.

There might be something in there, somewhere, that could help them to find where they were hiding now. At least, as long as they were still within borders. Otherwise, things could get very complicated.

Nell felt hopeful with the new assignment. She wanted to find them. Even if Sam had killed the middle brother, the one that had stabbed G, the other two were still dangerous and had to be taken so they could be brought to court and locked up.

So, she kept looking.

Eric was sitting at the work station next to her, typing furiously as well.

He had a few minutes and was helping her along with all the information she had to go through.

"It is quite stupid that he got himself killed though. If he would have still been alive, we could have interrogated him and maybe he would have told us something that we can't find in the files.."

Nell nodded slowly before pulling up the video of the traffic cam again, showing the accident.

It was a remote area of town, not too many people around, and the accident happened early in the morning.

The street was practically deserted, except for one man who was walking past some stores, reading the paper he was holding and sipping from some coffee.

Thomas Kerry was having a regular morning.

He walked past a green truck that seemed as normal as every other car in the street, but when he continued his walk, the truck started its engine and slowly pulled out of the parking space.

Not hitting full gas, the car stayed behind their man, who was too engrossed with some article, didn't notice. He finished his coffee and made a move to cross the street to throw the can in the bin.

He never reached the other side of the street.

When he crossed, he noticed the green truck and froze before dropping everything and running for dear life.

The truck jumped forward when the driver hit gas and started following the running man, who tried going left and right but was never fast enough to outrun his followers.

Suddenly, he dodged to the right again, making a beeline for something that couldn't be seen from the view of the traffic camera, when another car came out of nowhere and hit him dead centre.

It was a simple, black sedan with no plates or anything that could help them identify the vehicle.

Thomas Kerry flew through the air, hitting the pavement with a thumb that couldn't be heart because there was no audio on the video, but Nell could imagine it perfectly.

She winced, but it wasn't over yet.

The man was still moving slightly, lifting one of his arms as if he wanted to use it to push himself up again.

His legs weren't moving and one of them looked as if it had been broken.

The black sedan pulled back, before hitting gas again and going straight for the helpless man.

Nell felt a wave of nausea hit her when the car ran him over, effectively killing him in another go.

A few yards further, the black sedan stopped and the driver got out.

He was dressed completely in black and a gun could be seen in a holster around his shoulders.

His face wasn't visible because of a mask that covered his face and the top half of his head. He looked at the camera, before smiling wickedly and forming a gun with his right hand, imitating a shot at the camera, before walking to the green truck while favouring his left shoulder.

He got in and the truck left the scene, after which the video ended.

Nell turned her chair around to Eric, who had stopped typing and had been watching the video with her.

He had paled a bit and actually looked just a bit green. She felt exactly the same. The remains of Thomas Kerry had been found only moments after the events of the video. Blood had been everywhere, bones crashed because of the car and his face could barely be recognised.

"Well, somebody out there really didn't like this guy. It must have been a bad relationship for the driver to go back and run him over another time just to make sure he would be dead." Nell said quietly. Eric nodded in agreement.

"I have been tracking the green truck after the accident. I lost them once, but found them again and they parked the car in a garage without cameras. The truck hasn't come out since, but they drivers are probably long gone."

Nell sighed before looking back at her screen, before realising something.

"Wait a second.. The driver of the black sedan was favouring his shoulder.. His left shoulder, if I remember correctly."

She put the video in rewind, looking for the part where the driver left the car to get into the green truck.

He was definitely holding his left arm close to his body as if he wasn't too sure about using it. Driving a car must have been difficult, but doable.

"And we know now that Kerry knew about the brothers, might even have helped Jason to get back on American soil without being flagged at customs.. And a while after, this guy gets killed by two men who are working together.."

Nell was talking to herself as she pulled up the files from the shooting at the house where they had found the three brothers.

Deeks' report stated that Nick Demay had been hit by a bullet in the left shoulder while fleeing the scene.

They sat next to each other, staring at the words on the screen that might be the clue to knowing who had killed the corporal.

"Wait, I'll run a program to compare height and built to see if they match." Eric stretched his fingers before typing again, starting a program and pulling up the information from the personal files of Nicholas Demay and comparing the information with the man in the video.

"If we get lucky, I can even compare the facial features until a certain extent to see how probable it is that it's a match. The mask he's wearing is quite tight.."

For a few seconds, it was completely silent while Eric ran the data and Nell stared at the screen.

Was it possible? Could this man have hit the corporal, and ran him over again to kill him, in cold blood?

She shivered when she remembered the way he had waved at the camera and made the movement of the shooting gun.

A beep from the computers made her look up.

"And?"

Eric turned around in his chair, his shoulders tense and with a grim expression on his face.

"Built and height is a match of 92%. Facial features one of a mere 76%. But I think you're right. It's him."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

After a day of work, G was sitting at his desk and filling out the paper work.

He sighed while quickly thinking about the expenses of the day and noting down the number, before turning the page to continue his work.

Nell and Eric had done a great job on identifying Nick Demay as their killer, but it still meant they had to find the brothers in order for them to also close of this case.

And locating those brothers was proving to be more difficult than they had thought.

Russell Demay had been release by the coroner and he had been buried, so they had put some people to check the grave in case one of them showed up. It wasn't very likely, but you couldn't be too sure. From what they knew, they had been very close.

At the same time, they were trying to find out more about their victim and his relation to the brothers. They had the theory that he had helped Jason O'Dowd get back after his fake death, but they had to find the proof to be sure.

So, he and Sam and Kensi and Deeks had been interviewing his old buddies from the navy to find out more about him. No such luck so far.

But, for once, it meant everybody could go home at a more or less human hour instead of staying until after the clock started showing double digits.

He looked up from his paper before glancing behind him, where Sam was talking to Hetty about something. He couldn't exactly hear what they were talking about, but he had some idea.

His partner got up from the chair he had been sitting in, nodded at their boss and came walking back to them as Hetty picked up the phone and said something.

G turned back around and watched as Sam sat himself on the edge of his desk, not saying anything. A few seconds later, Eric and Nell appeared at the top of the stairs and came down quickly.

G followed them with his eyes, even when in the end he kept watching Nell as she followed Eric down the stairs.

She glanced sideways at her boss, a question clearly in her eyes, but kept following the tech as he walked to their desks.

"Hetty told us to come down here, what's up?"

Eric was still holding his tablet, his fingers at the ready in case he had to do something and every few seconds glancing down at it as if he was waiting for the results of some sort.

Nell wasn't carrying anything, yet she looked just as curious.

They weren't the only ones.

Kensi and Deeks had looked up from their work as well, the same question now in their eyes.

"What's going on?" Kensi was the first to ask.

She looked at him and G shrugged in response before making a slight nod with his head to Sam, who cleared his throat. He still didn't look too happy with the whole predicament, but he would go with it.

G was quite curious how everybody was going to react.

"Next week there is going to be an opening for a new art exhibition. I have tickets for all of us."

He was speaking a bit curtly, but was still holding up the cream envelopes that contained the invitations.

G nodded at his partner but looked up when Deeks raised a hand.

"So, any particular reason you are handing out expensive looking invitations for art exhibitions?" He asked, grinning mischievously.

Sam grumbled slightly and if looks could kill, Deeks would be long dead.

"Kensi, what do you think?"

Deeks turned to his partner, who had put her elbow on the table and was leaning with her chin in her hand, thought in her eyes.

"Hmm, I am not too sure. But if I do remember correctly, Sam's birthday is coming up.."

"Wow Sam, are you trying to do something classy for a change?" Deeks grinned, referring to the fact that last year they had just gone to a bar.

Sam's glare turned lethal before suddenly he smiled sweetly.

"But Deeks, how can any event be classy if you are going to be there?"

"You know, he has got a point there Deeks." G felt he had to pitch in at least with one comment in their favourite activity of pulling Deeks' leg.

Deeks didn't seem to feel too bothered by it though.

"Oh I can be classy." To prove his point, he turned to Sam again and scrunched up his nose as if he had smelt something terrible.

"Please, pray tell me, sir Hannah. Why o why are we graced with this immense gift of generosity?"

"Shut it Deeks. My wife is organising the event-"

"Oh! You are so whipped!" He interrupted Sam with ceremoniously clacking his tongue to imitate the sound of a whip.

Silence followed while they all stared at Deeks, who looked around at the others before settling on Sam.

"You are thinking about different ways to kill me, aren't you?" He asked suddenly.

Another second of silence ensued before the former Navy SEAL nodded slowly.

"Oh.. Hey! Steph- ah no Valerie! Just the person I was looking for!" He quickly got up and followed the woman that had walked past their desks with some files who clearly did not know Deeks.

They all snickered before turning back to Sam.

"So, an invitation for this opening where we get to see some special art, get free drinks and can have fun? I'd love to." Nell was the first to say something and she smiled brightly at Sam. For a second, he seemed taken back before also smiling slightly and handing her the first invitation.

"It's black tie and everything, quite classy according to what I have heard, but I guess it might get interesting."

He gave the next invitation to Eric, who accepted it with a thank you, and handed out another two to Kensi and G. He was holding one last invitation, the last one for Deeks, and for a second he looked at it as if he was considering just taking it through the paper shredder before sighing in defeat and putting it down on the desk next to him.

G grinned and picked up his envelope to put it in his bag.

"Cheer up Sam, it will be fun."

Next to him, Kensi had opened hers and was reading through the invitation quickly to know the details.

In the meantime, Deeks returned. He looked eerily at Sam while passing him but nothing happened so he sat down in his chair and picked up his own invitation.

"You hear that Deeks? It's black tie. They must have got a dictionary around here somewhere so you can look up what that means."

Their liaison looked up before grinning slightly.

"Do not worry my friend. All will be fine. So, Kensi, how about we go together? You could wear one of those really hot dresses you wear while undercover."

Sam threw his hands up in despair before sitting down again in his chair to finish his work while Eric and Nell turned to go back upstairs.

Kensi just stared at Deeks before shaking her head.

"Not in a million years Deeks."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was slowly walking back up the stairs, opening the envelope to have a look at the invitation. She fished out the card that was decorated with a simple, golden square in which black words with curly ends had been typed.

Very classy indeed.

The event would be the next week, starting at 8 p.m. and indeed with the black tie dress code. She would have to go and do some shopping to find something fitting for her to wear that evening.

For a second, she glanced back at the desks where Kensi and Deeks were still bantering with Deeks trying to convince Kensi that they absolutely _had_ to go together to the party.

Amused, she shook her head, before noticing a pair of blues eyes that were strained on her.

Her eyes darted to the senior agent, sitting at his desk with a file open in front of him. He wasn't paying any attention to it though, looking at her instead.

For a few moments, neither of them moved and Nell felt heat go up to her cheeks. Then, he nodded slightly before rolling his eyes at the two partners whose discussion was only getting louder and louder.

She grinned and shrugged slightly, meaning it was who they were and what they always did.

He nodded again, smiled one last time and then looked back down to his file.

Nell turned away and quickly climbed the last few steps to go up to the command centre. She was a 100 per cent sure that she was blushing furiously and fled to the bluish room.

Nobody would really notice it there.

Eric had already returned and was once again working on what he had been doing.

"A party, who would have thought.." She heard Eric mumble to himself.

She laughed and punched him slightly in the shoulder.

"You know, flip flops won't be the perfect attire for a black tie event, don't you think?"

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G finished up working on his files and got up to go and give it to Hetty. She was still sitting at her desk, working on her own things.

"Ah, thank you mister Callen." She took the files from him before picking up another file that was sitting on her desk.

"Could you go up and give this to Eric? He is going to need some of the information that is in here."

G nodded and took the file from her.

"Hetty, are you not going to come to the event?" He asked her bluntly.

She looked up again before bringing up a hand to correct the position of the pair of glasses she was wearing.

"Well, mister Callen. I have the highest expectations and I don't doubt this event will be wonderful, but I happen to already have plans for that night."

She smiled the way she always did, as if she knew much more than all the people around her combined.

Which was, actually, quite true.

"And I have really been looking forward to play some poker with the governor again. I think he should get a chance to at least try and get his money back."

She picked up her pen from the desk.

"The file, mister Callen?"

"Yes, of course. Have a good evening Hetty."

"You too mister Callen, you too."

He nodded and crossed the floor to the stairs, climbing them to get to the command centre. The doors slid open when he neared them and he opened his mouth to announce his presence but was stopped when he heard Eric talk.

"You know, we could go together."

An unsettling feeling came over him.

Both of them were sitting at their desks, backs to the doors and to him.

"Where could we go together?" Nell asked, not looking up from what she was doing.

"To Sam's thing. I mean, we are both going, so why not go together?"

G scuffed at the idea, only realising one second too late that that sound had made his present clear to the two.

They simultaneously looked up from their screens, one looking just a bit more confused than the other.

"I have some files for you Eric." He said before walking to the tech and handing him the files, if he wasn't actually pushing them in his hands.

"Have a good evening." He didn't even look at Nell, he just left the room again.

This feeling was so very _new._ He felt rattled and felt like his heart was a lump in his throat. The image of Nell going somewhere with Eric, all dressed up and ready to have some fun, seemed to be quite an unnerving image to him.

He didn't want her to stand closely next to him all evening long, dancing and talking and enjoying themselves.

God no.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Thank you for reading and please leave a review! _


	12. Chapter 12: Nell's Dream

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So, as I had promised, here is Nell's dream. The party is going to happen soon and I am quite looking forward to writing that part! And has everybody seen the new episode? Woohoo, it's back!

And thank you to everybody who was so kind to leave a review and all the other people who read and like my story! (I am still aiming for the 100-review-milestone!)

Novelnerd97: He will get another chance to being jealous, but he isn't really in this chapter. Until the next chapter!

StoryAficiondo9712: Thank you! I do enjoy writing the team banters and Deeks who just goes and says something weird. The party isn't here yet but it's going to get started in the next chapter!

Desnouer: Thank you for the review! And that's what he _should_ do, but if he is going to actually do it is something else.. But I have a plan for the party. Until the next chapter!

Angelscatie: I don't think I can promise that. But, on the bright side, you get to enjoy jealous Callen for a while longer. Thank you for the review!

Stargazer22123: And you are completely right! We'll just have to wait and see what is going to happen at the party, I guess. Thank you for the review!

DarkDivine131: Haha thank you for the review! And here is the next chapter, even if Callen isn't actually featured in it. I still hope you like it and in the next chapter, he will be back and have another chance to be jealous. Until the next chapter!

Shestarsky: He should yes, but he doesn't and that's a bit of a problem for him. We'll see how this all is going to end! Thank you for the review and until the next chapter!

Titoune1206: Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy the rest as well.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell had gone back to staring at her own screen, but even though she seemed to be working, her thoughts were far away.

To be more specifically, her thoughts had walked out the sliding doors, with G.

She didn't know what it had been, but somehow he hadn't seemed himself.

She furrowed her brow in thought, recalling his face from just mere seconds ago.

He had had a slight scowl on his face for some reason while giving the files to Eric. He hadn't glanced sideways once during his brief entrance.

Well, something had made him grumpy and this must have happened in the last few minutes because earlier, while walking up the stairs, he had still been smiling while they had a conversation based purely on facial expressions.

But what had happened?

"So, Nell, what do you think?"

The analyst looked up from her screen, disturbed from her thoughts. Eric was still sitting in his chair, looking down at his files.

"Because I think it would be quite useful. We could take a cab together, so we can have a few drinks each and don't have to worry about the driving home."

"I'll let you know."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Nell was walking on campus, having just left her last class for the day and on her way back to her dorm. _

_A heavy bag with her books was slung over her shoulder and even then she had to carry another book in her arms because the bag was simply so full. _

_By the end of the year, her arms will have grown a few feet. _

_She sighed and entered her building and climbing the stairs to the first floor, where her room was. _

_In front of the door, she was posed with another challenge, this being the fact that her keys were in her bag and her arms were full. _

_It made it quite impossible for her to get the key to open the door. And her roommate wasn't in either, since she still had another class to go. _

_Nell grumbled in annoyance and tried to balance the thick book in one arm while sliding the bag from her shoulder to she could put it on the ground. _

_Somewhere in that process though, something went wrong and before she knew what was happening, the book in her arms was flying through the air as she had lost her balance. _

_With a silent 'ump' she fell to the floor, the bag next to her and the book a few feet further, open and with a few crooked pages. _

_Nell cursed profusely and pushed herself up again, leaving everything else on the floor. For a few seconds, she rubbed her painful butt before bending over to take the keys from her bag. _

_When she had finally found them, she stood up again and turned around to go and pick up her book. _

_She froze when she saw a person standing behind her, leaning against the wall across the hall with her book in his hands. It was open as if he had been looking at some pages, yet the book lay forgotten in his hands as G Callen smirked at her. _

_Heat rose to her cheeks as she realised that she had given him what must have been the view of the day while bending over to get to her keys. _

_Why else could he be standing there with that god-forbidden smirk on his face, icy blue eyes twinkling with amusement. _

"_Looking for this?" _

_He held up her book, carrying an innocent expression on his face as if nothing had ever happened. _

"_G!" She barely kept quiet as she rushed forward to get her book back. _

"_Na-ah." Because he was so much taller than her, it was easy for him to hold the book high in the air where she couldn't reach it even when she jumped up and down. _

"_First, you have to say thank you for me picking it up." _

_She stopped jumping up and down and stared at him incredulously. _

"_And then, when I feel that you have shown your gratitude, I might consider giving you your book back." _

_She was silent for another second, before Nell started jumping up and down again, trying to get as high as possible so she could at least reach the book with her finger tips and tip it out of his steady hands. _

"_Come on, I don't have time for this." _

_Suddenly, she felt another, warm hand on her hip that turned her around in a brisk movement, pushing her against the wall he had been leaning up against just mere seconds ago. _

_G was leaning over her, effectively locking her in between his firm body and the even firmer wall. _

_The hand that was holding her book was leaning against the wall above her head, taunting her because she couldn't even bring her hands up now to reach it. _

_His other hand was still resting on her hip, but slowly it was sliding upwards until it rested on her now very hot cheek. _

_She must be bearing similarities to a tomato, if the heat on her face was any indication. _

"_First, you say thank you." He said softly, keeping his voice low and causing her heart to start beating quickly. _

_He came even closer and she felt his breath on her cheeks as he moved to her ear, almost touching it with his lips. _

_He was all strong and man, with the faint smell of leather from his jacket and something that reminded her of the sea. _

"_And then, you say please." _

_Her breath hitched. She would probably say anything if he would ask her to at this moment, feeling quite hot already from his proximity. _

_Slowly, she pushed herself up on her toes and, as far as it was possible for her, she leaned in closer to his ear. _

"_Thank you, G. And can I _please_ have my book back?" _

_For a second he was quiet, before his body rumbled in a soft chuckle. _

"_Hmm, if you have to." _

_He brought his arm down and handed her the book, although he wasn't moving back. _

"_I'll be seeing you around then." _

_Suddenly, he was gone and she quickly moved to her door, opening it with the keys and taking her stuff inside. _

_The next moment she was standing in a field and her books and bag were gone. _

_The sun was shining and a fresh breeze ruffled the grass and flowers around her. _

_For a second, Nell looked around. _

_It all looked so, very beautiful. She started walking to have a look around. She was surrounded by hills, so she started climbing one of them to see if there was maybe something else around once she would reach the top of it. _

_The walk didn't take long and wasn't too hard either. _

_It was quite relaxing even. _

_Then, she reached the top and looked around, only to see more hills covered in flowers of all different colours. Only far away could she see some trees and even further mountains. _

_No sign of civilization. _

_Slowly, Nell turned around to get a good feel on everything, but her peace was suddenly disturbed. _

_In front of here was a wooden bench, with delicately carved decorations on the arms and back. _

_And sitting there was G Callen. _

_He looked at ease, wearing a pair of dark jeans, a blue shirt and his leather jacket. His arm was slung over the back of the bench, his legs stretched and crossed at the ankles. _

_He looked good, the way he always did and somehow his eyes had a shade of blue in them she had never seen before. _

"_Oh Nell.. It's almost funny." _

_He spoke up but his voice didn't sound normal. It had a sound of malice to it and his eyes were cool and distant. _

"_Wh- What is?" She was surprised by his words and an unsettling feeling came over her, as if she knew what he was going to say. _

"_The way you seem to think that I care, at all." _

_G shrugged his shoulders while talking and lifted his hand to scratch his chin. _

"_You know what I am talking about." _

_Dead weight had dropped in her stomach. His words seemed so familiar. She had heard them before, even if she couldn't exactly remember where and when she had. _

"_We are different people. I am this, a man who needs to live and you are.. Well, you are just you. For one thing, you are just some geek with absolutely no life experience. You are boring, obsessive and controlling and you really don't know how to have any kind of fun. You are just a girl, barely out of high school. What do you have that others don't have? I need a woman." _

_Nell kept staring at the person sitting in front of her and telling her these things, slowly feeling her heart breaking. _

_On her right, she could see something move from the corner of her eye and she glanced sideways. _

_Kensi, her roommate, walked past her. _

_She was wearing a simple but tightly fitting black dress and high-heeled leather boots. _

_With a delicate move, she swept her hair over her shoulder before sliding down next to G on the bench, laying herself against him. _

_Unevenly matching eyes looked back at Nell and for a second, Kensi smiled condescendingly. _

"_Aah. I think you hurt her feelings G. Be careful, she might run to her mummy to tell on you." _

_She laughed and Nell watched as their lips met. G's hand that had been resting on the back of the bench slid down to grip her hips and pull her closer to him, not once breaking their kiss. _

_Nell felt a sob come up and she stumbled back while trying not to make a noise. _

_That didn't really work out the way she wanted it to as she stumbled over her feet and feel. Flowers around her were crushed and started to wilt. _

_She looked around, horrified at what was happening, before turning back to the two on the bench. _

_They had stopped kissing and G was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, slightly mocking her with it at the same time. His hand that had been on Kensi's hip had slid down and fond the exposed skin underneath the very short skirt. _

_Her roommate however had her back to her and from where Nell was, she could see how the other woman was leaving a trail of kisses on the skin in his neck, sliding to his ear. _

"_I forgot to add one thing to that list, Nell." _

_She looked back into the blue eyes that had gone ice cold. _

"_You aren't even that beautiful or even pretty. You are just an ordinary girl trying to be the woman she will never be. It's obscene, sad and ridiculous." _

_For another second she stared at him. _

_Then, suddenly, she pushed herself up on her feet again, turned around and started running. _

_Behind her, she heard Kensi laugh once before silence followed her over the hills. _

_Tears had started streaming down her face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. All she wanted to do was get away from them, to get away from everything. _

_She kept running but slowly, the hills started to change and before she knew what was happening, she was running downhill. _

_This was something entirely different from running over the hills and it didn't take long for her to stumble. _

_She screamed in fear when she felt the ground disappear from under her feat as she started falling. _

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell woke with the scream still on her lips.

She was sitting upright in her bed, breathing heavily. She was shaking and with uneven hands she reached for her duvet, pulling the warm and thick wall close around her.

It was cold in her room and when she looked up, she saw that her window was wide open.

For a second, she stared through it until a soft breeze came in and cooled the tears on her cheeks.

With a still shaky hand, she wiped them away.

It had just been a dream. Just a dream, she had them more often and normally she could just shake them off. This was different though.

Most of it had happened once, a long time ago. She had been in college and quite liked a guy that had been sleeping with her roommate from then.

He had just been four years older, but had said the exact same things as the G in her dream.

She squeezed her eyes shut with the memory and forced herself to breathe slowly.

So, she had developed quite the attraction to their senior agent and now she had to carry the consequences.

Somewhere deep inside her heart, there were still some parts of the naïve schoolgirl left, believing and dreaming that one day the jock would go for her. That one day, this amazing man would choose her over other women and say that he wanted her, _her_, and nobody else.

But that was all it was. A schoolgirl fantasy, one that was never going to come true. The dream had showed her that.

She had been burnt once and it wouldn't happen again.

Not because she didn't want it to, but because there was absolutely no way in hell that he would ever see her in another way than friendly or professional.

For a moment she thought back to everything that had been going on lately and shook her head with a sigh, before leaning back on the bed.

She was just imagining things.

Nell rolled herself on her side and curled up to a ball, closing her eyes again.

She was not going to cry about this. She was a woman now and how much it had hurt in college when she had been told these things, she was an adult now and could handle these things.

Yet, she cried herself back to sleep.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Thanks for reading and please leave a review! (Remember, we are going for the 100!) _


	13. Chapter 13: Dressed to Perfection

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **ALLRIGHT!Here it is, chapter 13! The unlucky number, but I don't think you will agree with me on that. Or maybe you will. Some good stuff is going to happen in the next chapter, but I first needed a bit of build up before this can actually happen.

And, thank you so much for all the reviews! The next one is going to be number 100! Yay! It's just so amazing that so many people read and like my story, it is incredible so once again, thank you!

Red Writer: Thank you. I am trying to find a balance between Nell the analyst and Nell the woman. They are the same person, but Nell the woman lets herself feel more. I just hope I can keep it that way. Thank you for the review!

Desnouer: Yes, those nightmares really do suck! And, G being the man he is, will need a gentle (or not so gentle!) push in the right direction from a certain kind of person. Thank you for the review!

Asma ISSAD: And thank you for reading my story, liking it and taking the time to leave a review!

DarkDivine131: No, he isn't so bad to actually do it. I hope you like this chapter as well. There is some Hetty/Nell interaction in there that I haven't really tried before, but I quite like Hetty. And, the next chapter is going to be loads of fun for me and for the readers! Until then!

Angelscatie: Yes, he does. And then there's the tiny detail that Deeks is kind off in the middle for them as well. I hope you like this chapter and until the next time!

Daughter of Ewan: You, my friend, are amazing! I love reading your reviews, just because they tell me what parts you really liked in the chapters and it's really great to know what is appreciated. I hope you will like this chapter as well as the others and I hope I will be reading more reviews from you!

StoryAficiondo9712: Thank you for leaving the review! The last chapter was a bit more emotional than the others but in the end I think it fits in well. Nell isn't always confident and now she's walking around with the memories of that dream. Let's see what Callen is going to do about that.

Tmpbooth: Thank you for leaving your review! There's not so much trouble going on in this chapter, but I think the next when is going to be a cracker.

Sterling36: Over the summer I had a break, which wasn't really planned but just happened. Now, I am trying to keep on writing. But I do promise that I am going to finish this story. Thank you for leaving the review!

Superherofan111: Thank you so much! And here it is again, the next chapter. I hope you like it.

Writergirl99: Yes, review 99. Argh, it stopped at 99, it's so frustrating to be stuck on 99! And I know the feeling. I started reading Densi and then I discovered Nallen and was just.. huh? But I love them now, obviously. What was the other fic that converted you, out of sheer curiosity? I have read a lot and am just wondering. And it being domesticated, I agree with that. When I write, I just sit down and start typing and when I start, I don't know yet how or where it is going to end. That's more or less what happened and I did want to give it a domestic feeling, just to show that there is a chance to something more normal. Anyways, thank you for your amazing review and I hope you will enjoy the next chapter!

So, after this (the last chapter had sooo many reviews!) on to the story!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

The days following the dream only got worse for Nell.

Waking up the next morning, she had felt empty. It was hard to go to work and face everybody all day long, even if she could hide in the control centre where the others only came for debriefings except for Eric. And he had picked up on her mood and hadn't said a lot.

Some evenings she would lie awake in her bed, eyes open and staring. She would feel the need to cry but could never bring up the tears before in the end hating herself for these feelings.

She tried to avoid G from then on. She wouldn't let herself end up being alone with him in the same room and when they were with the others, she didn't look at him.

Somehow, it started working both ways and soon they ignored each other outside of their work.

The friendship that had grown between them seemed to have never existed.

In the beginning, Nell had taken to not talking to Kensi either, because every time she thought of the dream, she could see her kissing G.

And now, it was all obvious. Her feelings for him. Her core wanting, needing to be close to him but not being able to because it just wasn't going to happen. If there were women walking around like Kensi, why would a man like G ever look at her twice?

She felt useless, undesirable and lonely.

It was on a Friday afternoon that Eric finally spoke up again.

"Nell.. I know you have been having a hard time lately and I don't really know what is going on with you. But tonight is Sam's thing and my offer still stands. Just, I'll swing by your place and pick you up and we'll go together. Just as friends and we'll have a good time. It would do you good."

Nell looked up from her screen when Eric started talking and kept studying her friend's face as he made the offer.

A sigh left her lips and she started to think of an excuse to get her out of the evening.

"You know Eric, that's really nice but-"

"No buts! Come on, it could be fun. Maybe the art will be interesting, but there is an open bar. We can have free food and lots of drinks. And I still don't know which shoes I should wear with my smoking. I practically only own sandals and flip flops."

Eric grinned sheepishly at his attempt at making her smile.

But it had worked.

Nell felt the corners of her mouth tilt upwards slightly at the image of Eric wearing a smoking with orange flip flops underneath.

"You must have a pair of normal shoes around your place somewhere. And alright, I will come with you."

Eric made a fist and pumped it in the air in a victorious move.

"Yes! Alright, that's the Nell I want to see again. And now I have to go down and show the others what I have found."

He smiled winningly at her before exiting the command centre, effectively leaving Nell behind on her own.

She turned back to her keyboard, a slight smile on her face, ready to get back to work.

"I am glad that you have decided to go to the party anyway, Miss Jones."

Nell almost threw the keyboard in the air when she heard her boss talk and she quickly turned around, facing the tiny woman.

Where in G_od's name_ had she come from?

Hetty smiled at the shocked look in Nell's eyes, obviously enjoying the confusion she had created.

"If I am not mistaken, you will encounter a slight wardrobal problem. I expect you at my desk at 6 p.m.. That should give us plenty of time to work around it."

Her boss had turned around again and was walking towards the doors that were already sliding open again. She had already left the room when she called something back over her shoulder.

"Oh, and tell Mister Beale to pick you up at 8 at your apartment."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell still had five minutes before she had to meet Hetty. Eric had left already. They had been incredibly lucky with today being an easy day with not a lot of things going on.

Nell was sitting in her chair and finished her work before logging off. She wouldn't turn the equipment off yet because later somebody might come back to do something.

For a second, she waited, but then she left the command centre and walked down the stairs.

The bullpen was empty. Everybody had left and in surprise, Nell looked around.

She had seen the office completely empty more often, but that normally happened later in the evening.

The desks of the agents were deserted, Kensi's of course being the most disorganised one of the four.

There was nobody walking around with files and it was completely silent.

"Hetty?"

She jumped down the last step and glanced at Hetty's desk. Her boss wasn't sitting there.

"Hetty?"

Nell looked around, but couldn't see her boss anywhere.

"Miss Jones! If you could join me."

Nell turned around and saw Hetty finally standing in the corner where they kept the wardrobe for the undercover missions.

_Oh dear. _

Nell had realised that afternoon with Hetty's words what she had meant, but only now could she comprehend what was going to happen.

Somehow, her boss had figured out that she hadn't done any shopping for the party and thus wouldn't have anything to wear.

"So, Miss Jones. I have a dress for you, that will be perfect."

Hetty was searching for the piece of clothing and Nell watched as she did so, slightly stunned by the actions of her boss.

"Hetty. Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?"

Her words made Hetty stop doing what she was doing and the tiny woman slowly turned around.

For a few seconds, they just looked at each other, both measuring the other person.

In the end, Nell had to look away first. Hetty was this remarkable person with so much experience and wisdom. Yet, with everything she had done and seen, she managed to be the person she was and, more importantly, to stay the person she was.

Nell, in a way, looked up to her.

"Well, Miss Jones. You remember me of this young girl who still had a whole career and a whole life in front of her. Yet, in a way, she didn't live it to the fullest. You are very good at what you do Nell, but sometimes people are that good at one thing that they can lose touch with everything else. You should never lose touch with these other things. Enjoy your life, Miss Jones. Now, it is the most important thing to do for you. If you see an opportunity, go for it. Some chances don't occur a second time."

With that, Hetty turned around again and finally found what she had been looking for. She pulled out a dress and showed it to the intelligence analyst, who was still mulling over Hetty's words.

What had she meant? But once she saw the dress, all thoughts left her mind.

It was beautiful.

The fabric was a dark golden green, shimmering in the lights as Hetty held it up for her. The dress had a golden strap around the middle which tied together in a knot on the hip, having two loose strands falling down next to the skirt, which was just above knee length.

Nell was stunned.

"It's so beautiful.." Slowly, she reached for the fabric and her fingers slid through the skirt. It was incredibly soft.

Nell wasn't the kind of girl to squeal for a pretty dress, but this particular piece of clothing was so absolutely stunning and she would be allowed to wear it.

Hetty was still holding it, smiling slightly with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Come on then, try it on. You can wear it tonight."

Nell's mouth fell open and her lips formed a slight o. She sort of had already seen it coming, but it still was a surprise.

Slowly, she took the dress from Hetty and held it in her hands.

"Wow, Hetty. Alright, let's see.." She disappeared into the fitting room and quickly changed out of her clothing.

Her eyes never really left the dress. She couldn't wait to wear it. She wanted to look beautiful, feel beautiful and that was what the dress would give her.

She slid in the green cloth and pulled the skirt down. It fell just above her knees, showing her light-coloured legs. But because the green had a dark golden shine to it, it didn't look unhealthy.

She turned to the mirror in the fitting room and examined herself for a few seconds.

She still had to zip up the back, but the colour was amazing.

Nell had always had quite a pale complexion and even now, the dress didn't change it. But it didn't look like she hadn't been outside in days.

"Miss Jones?"

Nell looked up when she heard Hetty call for her and opened the curtain.

"Could you just zip me up?" She asked her boss, turning slightly for her to see the zipper on her back.

Hetty smiled when the curtains slid sideways and revealed the intelligence analyst. It was exactly how she had thought it would be.

"Of course." Hetty stepped closer and with a swift movement, she zipped Nell up. Then, she stepped back and showed her the shoes she had taken the liberty to buy as well.

"To complete it all."

Nell was astonished. She took over the shoes, which were elegant, high heeled sandals. The thin straps were gold and came together just above her toes with a green stone.

Nell sat down and put on the shoes that were exactly the right size for her and stood again, just being a bit taller.

She turned and walked to the mirror, still getting used to the height of the heels. She didn't usually were them that often, but once in a while she could definitely pull it off.

Nell stood still in front of the mirror and studied herself.

She liked it. Better yet, she loved it.

Her shoulders were still bare since the green fabric came up over her breasts, over her shoulders and only came together halfway her back, just above the golden ribbon, exposing some skin there as well.

The shoes made her legs seem longer, even if it was just an illusion.

After a few seconds, she turned back to Hetty. Her boss was standing behind her, her hands clasped together in a tight grip and a knowing smile on her face.

"Yes, I think that will do. You do the dress justice, Miss Jones. Wear it with care."

Nell smiled as Hetty stretched her arm to check on her watch.

"Oh dear, is that the time already?" She heard the other woman mumble under her breath.

Nell in the meantime stepped forward and without any warning, she hugged her tiny boss. She felt Hetty stiffen for just a second and could already imagine the look of surprise on her face. One hand came up and patted her on the back, maybe just a tad bit awkward.

"Thank you Hetty. This is amazing, you are amazing."

Nell let go of her boss and stepped back again, looking at the older woman.

"Well, yes. But if you can excuse me, I have to go. I am late for my appointment." Hetty winked once before turning around and leaving the area with the clothes racks.

But, again, she couldn't just walk away and had to call something back over her shoulder.

"Oh, and if anything happens to that dress, Miss Jones, I will have to withhold your pay check for the next few months!"

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was standing at her front door, checking her image in the small mirror that was hanging next to it.

She had gone home after getting the dress, taken a nice, long bath and she had used all the time to get ready.

Now, she was wearing her dress with the shoes, holding her purse and taking her black coat to put over the dress. It wasn't that warm anymore outside. After the bath, she had fixed her hair so it would fall down exactly the way she wanted it to and applied some subtle make-up.

The bell rang and she opened the door to reveal Eric, who had come to pick her up.

"Hey." She said, smiling slightly. He was wearing a tuxedo and seemed to have combed his hair. For a second, she looked down at his feet to check if he had found the right shoes and was indeed greated by a pair of black, leather shoes. No colourful flip flops.

What a shame.

"Euhm- Hey. Wow, you look green. I mean, great! You look great, absolutely amazing!" Eric was stumbling over the words that came out of his mouth and Nell laughed.

"Don't worry, you look quite dashing yourself."

A slight blush had crept on her cheeks. After the week she had had, it felt good that somebody thought she looked great.

Eric turned halfway and extended his arm for her to accept.

"Shall we go?" Nell nodded in response and closed the door behind her before accepting his arm and together, they walked down to the road where a cab was waiting for them.

"So, what kind of people do you think are going to be at the party?"

Eric started a bit of casual conversation and Nell shrugged slightly in response.

"I am not sure. It is organised by Sam's wife and it is a fancy opening for this art exhibit, so maybe there will be some important people. But most probably there will just be some people that like the art and are interested, and the extra people that got the invitations. I guess we will see."

Eric nodded in reply and he held the door open for her so she could get in the cab before walking around and getting in next to her.

The drive wasn't too long and they chatted a bit about their plans for the weekend. Apparently there had been a weather forecast predicting some great waves, so Eric was going surfing.

Nell hadn't really thought about what she was going to do with the next two days off. Maybe it wouldn't last, either. Something could always come up to interrupt their spare time.

When they arrived at the gallery, Eric paid the driver and they got out together. Nell closed the buttons on her coat when she felt a breeze slide around her and Eric offered his arm again, which she accepted.

"I think I can see the others over there."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G Callen had been having a crap day. Better yet, he had been having a crap week.

After overhearing the conversation between Nell and Eric, he was just pissed.

The whole image of the two of them going to the party together and hanging around each other all evening set something deep inside him off immensely.

To add to this, Nell had pretty much stopped talking to him. She only said something during briefings of when he asked her something during the debriefs. Outside of that? Nothing.

He just couldn't understand.

So, for the whole week, they had barely talked and he had only gotten grumpier and grumpier.

Sam had started wondering if he was suffering from some kind of weird PMS, but after sparring a bit G had changed his mind.

Yet, it didn't change his mood.

At the moment, he was standing at the entrance of the art gallery. He had pushed his hands in his trouser pockets and was glancing around to see if he could find the others.

He had been forced to go by himself since Sam would be here early, together with his wife.

"Deeks, I swear to god, if you are not going to shut up right now, I am going to rip you to shreds!"

He would recognise that voice from everywhere and slowly turned around.

"Sugar bear, you're so feisty tonight. And I only complimented on the excellent choice of wardrobe!"

There they were, Kensi and Deeks.

The special agent was wearing a burgundy, one sleeved dress that stopped midtigh, with a pair of very high heels.

Next to her, Deeks was wearing a smoking just as G was.

"Deeks, put your eyes back in your pockets." G remarked when they had reached him.

"I thought you weren't coming together?"

Kensi sent a deathly glare sideways to her partner, who had a look of pure innocence on his face.

"Well, yesterday _somebody_ managed to wreck my car so I didn't really have a drive tonight."

In his defense, Deeks put up his hands.

"Hey hey hey! It wasn't my fault that that terrorist yesterday managed to shoot your tires. That wall came out of nowhere!"

Kensi huffed.

"Yeah right."

G shook his head, smiling slightly. He looked at Deeks, who was grinning like a mad man. Oh, he wasn't sorry at all that he had gotten to pick Kensi up for the party.

"Hey guys!"

G turned around and saw Eric and Nell walking towards them. His eyes instantly closed in on their arms, linked together as they stepped up the sidewalk and joined their little group.

Eric was wearing a smoking as well. Nell was covered in a long, black coat and he couldn't see what she was wearing. Underneath the coat, a thin strip of fabric peaked out which was some hint of green.

Even then, Nell usually didn't show this much leg without covering it in any way. And he absolutely wouldn't mind if she would do it more often.

For a second, he imagined sliding his hands up her alabaster skin and for the briefest of moments he remembered the dream he had had in which he had gotten the chance to actually do so.

And man had she reacted.

But, that wasn't real, and this was.

His brow furrowed again when their arms were still linked, but nobody seemed to notice.

Nell was avoiding his eyes and instead looking at Kensi.

"Wow Kensi, you look amazing."

The girls exchanged some pleasantries and finally, G cleared his throat.

"How about we go inside?"

Nell looked up to him and suddenly, she let go of Eric's arm.

"Alright, I am starting to get quite thirsty." Deeks exclaimed his desire to go and, without taking no for an answer, took Kensi by the arm and led her to the entrance, effectively leaving the other three in a bit of an awkward silence.

"Come on guys!" Deeks called back over his shoulder.

This triggered a reaction from Eric, who quickly followed the other two.

Oh crap.

"So –"

"We should go inside as well." Nell quickly interrupted him and slowly started to walk to the doors. It took G a split second to follow her but finally he was walking next to her.

He didn't know what to say.

She wasn't talking and somehow he had the feeling that anything he would say, would just angry her in some way.

So, instead of saying anything, he stepped forward when he reached the door and opened it for her so she could go inside.

They both were required to show their invitations to a security guard at another door and then they finally reached the wardrobe.

"You can leave your coats here before going inside." A woman called and in front of him, Nell was opening her coat.

Quickly, he stepped in closer.

"Let me." He said softly, leaning in slightly before lightly putting his hands on her shoulders so he would be able to lift her coat.

She froze, and if he hadn't been paying attention he wouldn't have noticed it happened.

But just as quickly as it happened, it was over and he wondered briefly if he had imagined it.

Nell slid her arms out of her coat and turned around.

For a second, G was stunned. He was holding the coat forgotten in his hands as he looked at her, amazed by the natural way in which she could just look so _beautiful_.

The goldish green dress fit her petite frame perfectly and showed her creamy shoulders and subtle neck where she was wearing a golden necklace with something round and gold that dangled between her breasts.

With the high heels she seemed taller and lightly marked hazel eyes glanced up at him.

"G, can I have my coat?"

What? Ow.

"Yes, of course."

He handed her the coat and waited as she gave it to the wardrobe lady.

She looked absolutely stunning.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell felt a bit awkward, but tried not to show it as she gave her coat to the lady that was arranging the wardrobe for the guests.

She didn't want to be this close to him. Even if she liked it, this incredibly handsome man who was walking her in and opening doors for her. It didn't matter, because nothing would ever happen.

She didn't want to get hurt, but the way she had let things get out of hand, it might already be too late.

When he had stepped in to take her coat, she had felt his breath slide past her skin, she had noticed the warm presence behind her and for a brief moment she just wanted to lean into him and forget everything about the party.

This sucked.

Once her coat was hung up, she turned back to G, who was still watching her.

He seemed to be thinking about something, but his eyes were never leaving her.

Next to feeling awkward, she was also feeling uncomfortable now.

What was it? Did she not look right? Did he think she looked ridiculous? Did she have something between her teeth?

Insecurities just kept on growing bigger and bigger.

"So, shall we go in?"

"Yes, let's go."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_So, I thought about G telling her she looked beautiful in the end here, but then I got this idea and I am loving it right now! So, it's going to be something for the next chapter! _

_Thank you for reading and please leave a review! _


	14. Chapter 14: Beautiful

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So here it is, another chapter for you amazing readers! And yay! *party!* This story got a 100 reviews! I am so incredibly happy that it has gotten this far, it's amazing. And, as a thank you, I have a surprise for you in this chapter. So go on and read and please leave a review!

Desnouer: Jeej! Your review was number 100! So, thank you! And I do fear I am leaving you with another cliffhanger.. Please do forgive me. Until the next chapter!

Shestarsky: At first, I didn't really plan to have Hetty do it, but then I thought it would fit in quite nicely with everything else. So I put it in. And I hope you like this chapter, I did have something special planned yes. Until the next chapter!

Angelus320: Haha! And guess what you are going to find at the end of this chapter. It might be a while until the next update because I have an exam coming up, but I hope this chapter will be sufficient for the wait. Thank you for the review!

DarkDivine131: Hi! Well, I actually quite enjoyed writing Hetty in her part in the other chapter. And while the others are at the party, she is playing poker with some friends (and probably taking all their money for that). And here was quite some Nallen in the end, so I hope you like it. Thank you for the review and until the next chapter!

Bubbles: Thank you so much for the review and the compliments! I try to do my best with the characters, but I do add a small twist of my own to them. I hope you will like this chapter as well!

Angelscatie: Thank you for the review! And talking in this chapter.. I won't spoil it, you will have to read it. Until the next chapter!

Writergirl99: Haha, that might be it because in word count the last one was rather long.. And I hope you like what I did with the chapter and with Sam's wife, who I quite enjoyed writing. To me she is this rather elegant and intelligent event organizer. And I am going to have a look at that story, I haven't read it yet. But I have an exam coming up so it might be a while until I do. Until the next chapter!

Bjq: Haha, thanks for the review!

StoryAficiondo9712: Thank you for the review! And I hope you like this chapter.. Until the next!

Djrocksforever: And thank you for taking the time to leave a review! I hope you like this chapter as well.

Tmpbooth: I think explosion is indeed the right word to describe this.. So here it is, I hope you like what I did with it.

Jimi18: Thank you for your reviews! And I love Caro Emerald and her music. I just have a thing for the jazzy kind of music. Until the next chapter!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Rachel was pleased.

She was looking around, once again following her checklist.

All the art was shown correctly?

Check.

There was an elegant buffet with several bites for the guests?

Check.

The waiters were walking around with trays filled with champagne?

Check.

The waiters were actually properly dressed?

Double check.

The guests were arriving?

Check.

Everything was going great.

Smiling slightly, she turned around again to welcome the next guests: a young couple standing closely next to each other and looking around with interest.

As she shook their hands, she felt Sam next to her change his stance and once the couple had walked away again, she looked at her husband.

His eyes were trained on the entrance, where their newest guests had appeared.

The trio, consisting of a young, quite stunning woman and two men, had noticed them and started to walk in their direction.

She hadn't seen G yet, or the fifth person of their party, but they must be coming in as well.

Once the trio had reached them, the woman being the first followed by the two men, Rachel smiled.

"Kensi, Deeks, Eric, this is my wife Rachel." Sam introduced her to the three and Rachel extended her hand so she could shake it with the other three.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Hannah" Kensi was the first to talk and as they shook hands, Rachel made a light movement with her hand.

"Mrs. Kingston actually, but none of that. You will call me Rachel, as I will call you Kensi. This goes for all of you" She nodded slightly and for a second she locked eyes with Kensi.

Yes, a woman who was sure of herself and knew what to do to get what she wanted.

Definitely not a person to treat lightly. But she hadn't expected anything less.

"I must say, Rachel, you are way too beautiful for a man like Sam."

Next to her, she felt Sam tense up slightly as if he was worried that the man with the shaggy blonde hair wouldn't be able to behave himself any better than this, but Rachel laughed at his words.

"Oh dear, such great compliments from such a handsome fellow."

He grinned happily and as they shook hands, he tilted hers upwards slightly so his lips could brush past her skin.

"Marty Deeks, at your services."

Next to him, she saw Kensi roll her eyes slightly, even if she did have a hint of a smile on her lips. No, she was merely amused, not irritated in any way.

"Very nice to meet you Marty." Rachel smiled and let go of his hand to meet the third person of their group. The first two had shifted to Sam and were talking with him.

The third man, wearing glasses in front of a pair of piercing eyes, seemed to be a bit more nervous.

"Uhm.. Hello." He said slowly, as if he wasn't sure those were the words he was supposed to say.

She took his hand in a soft grip while shaking it.

"Hello. Then you must be Eric, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes, I am. Ma'am. Mrs. Kingston. Ma'am."

"Just Rachel, unless if it makes you feel uneasy. We are all friends here, there is nothing to worry about."

He seemed to relax a bit and she nodded approvingly.

"I hope you will enjoy the evening, Eric."

This time, he smiled back at her before letting go of her hand.

At that moment, she saw somebody else walking towards them.

G was guiding a very young, very tiny woman towards them.

She was walking slightly in front of him and Rachel noticed how he had his hand close to the small of her back to steer her, yet he never touched her.

They weren't really talking either and once they reached them, Rachel noticed how the girl was doing her best to keep a distance between them.

How peculiar.

Even more so because G could barely tear his eyes away from her. Yes, she was quite the appearance, wearing a dress that made her almost look fairy-like.

And she would eat her shoe if she wasn't the woman that had been the cause for the slight changes her husband's best friend had been going to.

"G! How wonderful of you to join us tonight." She smiled, indeed very happy to see him.

She kissed him lightly on the cheek as he did the same to her.

"Rachel, stunning as ever. How are you?" He had torn away his eyes from the woman and was looking at her, smiling slightly, even though it didn't really reach his eyes.

He was bothered by something, annoyed even.

"I am fine, thank you. And up until now the whole event is going great, so I have nothing to complain about."

He nodded at her words.

"And who is this lovely, young lady?"

Rachel stepped sideways so she was standing in front of the young woman.

"Nell Jones. It's nice to finally meet you ma'am."

"Rachel, please call me Rachel."

And these must be all the people that worked with her husband. He had told there would be five that would come, G included.

It was great to put some faces to the people that worked with Sam.

"Well, I hope you will enjoy the party tonight. We have champagne and something to eat and later on we will present some of the art work."

In the background, a band started playing some music and people started dancing.

"And, of course, you can dance."

The others smiled and slowly started going their own way.

G stayed with her and Sam as Eric and Nell walked towards a waiter with the drinks while Marty was pulling Kensi to the food.

Rachel smiled again and turned towards her husband.

"Sam, dear, could you get us some champagne?"

He looked up at her, before nodding silently and disappearing towards a waiter to get them the drinks, effectively leaving her alone with G.

His eyes had followed Eric and Nell, a frown on his face that was slowly turning into a scowl.

"Oh dear, is it that bad?" Rachel said softly, putting her hand lightly on his arm.

That got his attention and he looked her in the eyes with a mixed look of confusion and nervousness.

"Have you at least told her she looks beautiful?" She asked, perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised slightly as she asked him the question.

"What are you talking about?" He tried, feigning ignorance.

"G, dear, you know I love you. But don't take me for an idiot. Even a blind man can see you are attracted to that girl. It's a miracle your co-workers haven't noticed anything yet, even if Sam is a bit suspicious. But let me tell you something: at least tell the girl she looks beautiful. Just.. Trust me on this. Us girls like hearing that from handsome men."

"What are you talking about?"

Sam had returned, holding three glasses of champagne in his hands.

"Take Sam, he tells me I am beautiful." Rachel took a glass from her husband as G did the same. She stood on her toes for a second and kissed her husband on the cheek as an arm slid around her waist.

"And I mean it every day." He grinned before kissing her softly on the lips.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell and Eric were both holding glasses of champagne. Hers was almost empty already, his had been barely touched.

Eric seemed to be just a bit nervous and Nell frowned slightly when she noticed the way he kept looking around.

"Eric, stop worrying. These are all normal people and we can just have a fun evening and enjoy ourselves for once."

How the tables had turned. That afternoon he had been the one convincing her to come to the party because it would be fun and now she was doing the same to him.

"I know. It's just.. All these people must be very rich and famous and we are just so.. normal."

Nell shrugged slightly and took the final sip from her glass, emptying it.

"Yes, that's the way people are. There are so many of us. Statistically, some of us are bound to be normal."

Eric looked at her, before relaxing a bit and smiling.

"Yes, you are right."

A bit further away the saw Kensi and Deeks standing next to the buffet, discussing something with great persistence.

They couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but it looked like Deeks was trying to convince Kensi to do something she absolutely didn't want to.

Nell finally heard the word 'dance' drift in their direction, which made her understand what Deeks wanted to do and Kensi refused to.

Dance.

She looked at Eric before making a small movement with her hand to the other people that were dancing.

"How about it, hotshot?"

The song had a happy, no worries melody which could be fun to dance to with a friend.

Eric seemed to mull it over for a second before giving in.

"Alright, but don't do anything weird."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G had wandered away from Sam and Rachel, looking at some art as he did.

Husband and wife were allowed to have at least some alone time, he wasn't that desperate to hang out with other people.

But for the last two minutes he had been standing in front of an abstract, colorful painting, but he hadn't really registered anything in front of him.

Rachel's words were holding his thoughts elsewhere.

He hadn't told Nell she looked beautiful.

But it was obvious, she simply was the most beautiful woman of everybody present.

But what if he were doing this undercover?

If he would have to get close to a woman for the job, he would definitely tell her she looked beautiful. They usually did appreciate that.

But he wasn't doing this undercover. He was being himself here, and that was what was making his so hard. He never got close to a woman as himself.

Every single time he had picked up a woman, he had pretended to be somebody else. Even if he was out on his own, it was easier to pretend it wasn't him.

But he couldn't do that with Nell.

Scratch that, he couldn't do that _to_ Nell.

He shook his head with a sigh and turned around, his eyes scanning the area to find her.

It wasn't easy to spot her.

She was on the dance floor with Eric, dancing and laughing as she did a funny move.

Eric seemed to be slightly embarrassed but in the end, he laughed as well.

They were just having fun as two normal adults.

Then, the song came to an end and was replaced by something slower and more mellow.

For a second, he saw them look at each other as if they were discussing what to do next: continue dancing or stop?

In the end, they stepped closer to each other and Eric's hands slid around her waist as her hands came up around his neck.

They weren't exactly pressed up against each other, but they were still too close for his like.

He grumbled slightly and turned around again, staring back at the painting.

This was crap.

He was forcing himself to stare at the painting, but his mind was playing tricks on him as he kept seeing Nell and Eric.

Pressed up against each other.

Whispering in another's ear.

Softly kissing-

"Well good evening."

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice and he looked to his right. A woman had joined him in front of the painting.

She had short, blonde hair and big brown eyes, a small nose and a friendly smile.

Wearing a black dress, she was quite beautiful.

But, as he was looking at her, he noticed that she didn't have the petite form he had grown to like.

She was rather tall, even more so with her heels and all her features had a slightly rounded form to them.

He could only compare her to Nell, and think that she came nowhere near the petite analyst.

"Hello" He said curtly, before looking back at the painting.

She didn't seem too impressed by his words and looked back at the painting as well.

"The use of color in this painting is quite striking, don't you think?"

He didn't respond at once, still staring at the painting.

"Might be, if you are into that combination of yellow and purple."

He turned around without saying another word and walked over to the people that were still dancing.

The song was coming to an end.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was still holding her hands in Eric's neck as they were dancing.

It was nice and quite relaxing after the not so calm dancing earlier.

"Thank you Eric."

"For what?"

She looked up in his eyes and smiled slightly.

"For convincing me to come."

After pushing the thoughts about G to the back of her head, she was actually having fun.

"It's good to get away sometimes."

Eric nodded slightly at her words and the continued dancing in silence until the end of the song.

Nell stepped away from Eric and grinned up at him, but suddenly she felt another hand on her arm.

"You wouldn't mind of I steal your dance partner for a moment, wouldn't you Eric?"

A look of surprise passed his face, before shrugging and stepping back.

"No problem."

Then he left.

Nell looked up in the pair of familiar blue eyes as the hand on her arm slid to her hand and G's other hand came down to rest on her hip.

Another slow song started playing.

"G, what are you doing?"

For a brief moment, she had tried to step away from him but the grip he had on her was gentle but still firm.

"What does it look like?"

He had pulled her against him and automatically, she raised her free hand to his shoulder.

Her other hand was linked with his as he slowly started to slide across the dance floor with her.

Nell was pressed up against his firm chest and she could smell his subtle cologne, mixed with his own smell she had gotten to know.

Even with the heels, she wasn't tall enough to look over his shoulder, so she turned her head slightly and kept her eyes directed to her right, avoiding his eyes.

For a few seconds, the music surrounded them as they danced in silence, until Nell realized something.

G wasn't relaxed, he wasn't relaxed at all.

His stance was tensed and she could feel the muscle in his shoulders tighten up under her fingers.

Even if she wasn't completely comfortable with this, neither was he.

Something was off, someway.

In the end, he sighed and she felt how some of the tension left his body.

"You know something, Nell?" He said softly. He was leaning his head slightly against hers and she felt his breath on her ear.

Her skin tingled and she felt the desire rise to turn her head and kiss him. Everything to get closer to him.

But she forced herself not to look into his eyes and neither did she respond to his words.

"You.. You look beautiful. You are beautiful. The most beautiful woman in here, if I can say so."

That, she hadn't expected.

She looked up into his eyes and noticed that he was much closer than she had first thought.

She could see the lines of blue in his eyes as he locked his with hers.

Had he really just said that?

His hand let go of hers and she felt how his fingers softly touched her cheek.

His fingers were warm and for the briefest second, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

Then, just as sudden as it had come, the feeling left again and she searched his face for something, anything.

He only sighed and his lips touched her forehead.

"I just wanted you to know that."

Then, he let go of her, before turning around and walking away.

She was left in the middle of the dance floor, with still the song playing in the background.

But then, she felt anger rise.

Anger with him, for being the person he was and never doing anything.

Anger with herself for being insecure and even more so for wanting him.

And having already had two rather big glasses of champagne, she did something she normally wouldn't have done.

She followed him.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

He had been holding her and he had really enjoyed it.

Then he had told her she looked beautiful and then he just had to walk away or he would kiss her.

Simple as that.

So for now, he just needed to get away from the other people.

He walked paste the paintings to the one the furthest away, where he could see nobody and nobody could see him.

With a hand, he leaned against the wall while he pressed his fingers against his closed eyes.

He shouldn't have done that.

Yes, had should have told her, but the look in her eyes had been too much. She had been flattered, happy even with his words.

"G Callen, you are a complete prick!"

He looked up, surprised when he heard his name, but he was met with a slap in the face.

In shock, he brought his hand up to his burning face and stared at the woman in front of him.

Nell had put her hands on her hips and was looking up at him with a furious glare.

What?

What had he done?

"You just keep doing weird things at random moments, or saying thing when I am not expecting them. And the fact that I can't stop thinking about kissing you isn't really helping. But the next time you do something like that to me, I-"

He stepped towards her, sliding one hand in her hair and the other past her neck as he crushed his lips on hers.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was feeling slightly lightheaded, but the feeling of G's lips on hers was amazing.

For a second, she incoherently mumbled something, before she caved.

The kiss was raw and filled with passion and pent desire.

G's grip was strong and she felt wanted, _needed_, as the heat raced through her veins. She pressed herself against him, her hands gripping the fabric of his smoking as she pulled him closer.

He moved and she was pressed against the wall he had been leaning against just mere seconds ago.

He was towering over her, his lips never leaving hers. Nell moaned softly, as such opening her mouth.

His tongue found access and the kiss became a hot battle of lips, tongues and clashing teeth.

Nell felt one hand leave her neck and slide down towards her leg, which she lifted slightly when she felt the rough fingers stroking her skin.

Her core was burning and she wanted him closer, always closer.

But they were human and in need of air.

For a second, they broke apart and she felt her hart racing as she was breathing heavily.

They break didn't take long though and his lips found hers again.

She felt a rumble rip through his body as he moaned, which made a shiver run down her spine.

"No no no, I am sure we have put up the right painting."

Nell stiffened as she heard the voice come closer.

It was Rachel and she was around the corner, talking to somebody.

Panic filled her and before G could stop her, she had slid out from between him and the wall.

They locked eyes and she felt her face burn red with embarrassment at what just had happened.

"Oh God. I just- I-" She didn't know what to say as she looked at G, who had noticed her anxiety.

"Nell.."

His voice was low and husky, sounding like a bedroom fantasy.

His eyes were burning with icy fire but Nell stepped backwards. Her legs were still trembling from the intensity of their kiss.

"I'm sorry."

Then, she turned and ran.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_*Pam pam PAM!* _

_Please leave a review! _

_And it is going to be at least two weeks until the next update. I have my first exam at Uni in 10 days (not that I am counting :p) and I really have to study because I really have to pass it. So, until then! And wish me luck! _


	15. Chapter 15: Doorbell

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So. Yeah. Finally! But I made this chapter extra long to make up for the wait (it actually is the longest chapter to date!). And there is a lot of stuff going on in there as well, but still all emotional. I hope y'all like it a bit, because I am still not too sure about everything. Anyways, sorry again for the long wait! And a few days ago I did put up this little oneshot after seeing the latest episode Out of the Past called 'Bed Head'. It's very Nallen and if you haven't read it yet, go and read it! I am even thinking about turning it into a twoshot, on request for some of the reviewers.

And once again, thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I love reviews, they just make me want to write more and I really hope you folks enjoy reading the chapter. And on another note: we have reached the 100 followers! First the 100 reviews, then the 100 followers! I am so amazed and very, very grateful. You guys are amazing!

DarkDivine131: Thank you for the review! And I did enjoy writing Sam's wife (but some stuff is going down in the next episode about his wife, so soon we might have a real idea what she's like!). And I would love to hear what you think about this chapter. I am not that good and confrontational stuff (it shows, I guess) so some feedback would be amazing! Until next time!

Novelnerd97: Haha, I think them being stupid about this is going to end quite soon. I hope you like this chapter and thank you for the review!

Yellowahks: Thank you! And I apologise for the long wait since the last update (I sometimes start reading stories in progress and then I have to wait for updates and it is so frustrating! I love to just keep reading..) and I hope you will like the newest chapter!

Shestarsky: I'm sorry for leaving it like that? xD And I am not going to spoil anything, you will just have to read the chapter and find out. Thank you for the review!

StoryAficiondo9712: Thank you! And I'm sorry it turned out to be longer than two weeks, but in return I offer you a long chapter! I hope you like it as well.

Writergirl99: I only thought of it while writing it and when it comes I just put it down. But here's another chapter with quite the sequel to what happened. And I quite enjoy writing Rachel, even if we might get to actually meet Sam's wife in the next episode. And I am going to try updating more regularly again!

Jimi18: Thank you for the review! And will he chase after her or will he not, that's the question!

Eleanor Elisabeth Martha: Even more than two weeks, sorry! Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Angelscatie: And there is some talking in this chapter, but I have to admit I don't do that well with these kinds of conversations. But I would love to hear what you think of it. Thank you for the review.

Bjq: Short and simple, but you are absolutely right! Thank you for the review.

Shaz1: And here is some more! Thank you for the review.

Jasmine-Now-Leaves: It had to be mean, so I could make her feel what I needed her to feel. And I quite enjoyed writing both dreams, because sometimes the characters can be a bit OOC and it doesn't matter because it is a dream. Or you can make them be OOC to stress a certain point which would be impossible to without it. Thank you for the review!

Gear's girl: Thank you for the review!

.forever: Haha, I might :P And I would never get annoyed by reviews, they always make my day when I get them (the more the merrier, I could say). And I still have a whole story to tell, even if they are together. And there is going tob e some angst in the future too, I promise. And whoops, that might have slipped in there. English isn't my mothertongue so sometimes you might find something I put in there mistakenly. A smoking is like a tuxedo. Thank you for the review!

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell slipped through the first door she could find. Luckily, this was the bathroom for the ladies and she all but dove into the first empty stall, avoiding to look anybody in the eye.

Two young women were standing in front of the mirror, checking their images and reapplying some make-up while chatting about their boyfriends who were waiting for them outside.

They had looked up when Nell had come barging in, but hadn't said anything as she disappeared in the stall, locking the door behind her.

With shaking hands, Nell put down the lid before sitting down.

Her legs were shaking and when she saw her hand, she noticed how her fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

Ashamed for what had happened, she pressed her hands against her face and closed her eyes.

She was still panting and Nell started counting to three with inhaling and exhaling to get herself under control.

Together with her breathing, also her heartbeat calmed down, but the strong tension between her shoulders wouldn't go away.

Neither would the bitter feeling of shame.

Finally, Nell lifted her hands from her face, only then noticing they were slightly wet with a couple of tears.

Horror filled her. Had she been crying?

Her breathing quickened again with the new wave of panic, until her logical mind rationalized that her eyes weren't burning like they usually did when she would cry.

She ripped off a piece of toilet paper and patted it over her cheeks.

She hadn't cried, but somewhere in the panic, tears had appeared in her eyes.

She closed them for a second and forced herself again to breathe slowly, this time counting to five so she would have to slow her breathing.

Finally, she was calmed down.

The tension was still in her body, but she wasn't trembling anymore.

With a slow movement, she stretched her arms and felt some of the tension between her shoulders disappear when she felt a slight pop.

Then, finally, she let herself think back to what had happened.

A ball of unease had nestled itself in her abdomen, mixing with the shame for what had happened and fear for what the consequences might turn out to be.

It was almost impossible to think back to the kiss and the way his lips had forcefully claimed hers while rough fingers had gripped her skin without immediately feeling guilty again.

It was all just very tiring, the way the memory of the kiss itself made her feel warm inside, just before it was all shattered to pieces when she realized how stupid she had been.

And together with that feeling, everything else came stumbling back.

It was like a carousel, taking her round and round over the same emotions again and again until she felt exhausted.

Damn it.

She knew she was a bad drinker. She _knew_ that, with her petite frame and low resistance, she should pay more attention to what she drank.

Especially when she hadn't eaten that much over the last couple of hours.

And the two rather full glasses of champagne had been her downfall.

Thinking this, Nell furiously shook her head as if disagreeing with herself.

No, she couldn't blame this on something else.

Even if the champagne had helped her in all of this, she had always had the desire to kiss G. Without the drink, she would have just never acted on it.

With a groan, Nell let her head fall back into her hands.

What was she going to do about this?

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G was still standing exactly where Nell had left him, his eyes still looking in the direction in which she had disappeared.

If he couldn't still feel her lips on his, her tiny body pressed against his, he would have thought he had been dreaming again. But he was pretty sure he hadn't been.

"G? Is everything alright?"

He turned around and saw Rachel standing there with a man who was about his age with thin, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

They must have just rounded the corner.

G adored Rachel, she was an amazing woman and they got along greatly, but right now he could just curse her for ruining the moment.

But Rachel wasn't her composed self either.

She was holding an iPad in her hand and seemed frustrated with something.

The man standing next to her was feeling quite the same, but he didn't have the skill she did in hiding her feelings. He was looking at G with open distrust, as if he thought he was standing here all alone while plotting something against his artwork.

G felt a pang of bitterness hit him in the chest.

No, he had been standing here with Nell and when they had com, she had disappeared.

But, instead of showing anything, he nodded towards the duo and started walking away from them.

"I'll see you later Rachel."

She nodded in answer, before turning back to the man she had accompanied here.

"As I have been telling you, Mr. Codori, the paintings are displayed in exactly the way you have asked us to. Now please, will you enjoy-"

G tuned the voices out and kept walking away from where he had been standing.

He would have to go and find Nell so they could talk.

A feeling of dread settled over him in a heavy blanket.

This was all just a big fuck-up.

Even worse because he was the one to have kissed her.

Kissed her _first_, for that matter.

G remembered her words and couldn't help a small tilt in his lips when he thought of the way how flustered she had looked, how annoyed with him for everything. And she had said that she couldn't stop thinking about kissing him.

He stopped dead in his track when suddenly her words came back to him.

She couldn't stop thinking about kissing him?

Really?

_Him?_

He had to talk to her, go through what had happened.

But where had she gone?

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Rachel thanked the gods when Mr. Codori finally agreed with her that everything was perfectly fine, that all the paintings were up in the right order and that he really should go and enjoy the party.

So, finally, he had walked back and she sighed in relief.

Disaster averted.

Codori knew how to throw a tantrum, especially when he wasn't happy about something, and she didn't need an upset artist right now.

She unlocked the iPad in her hands again and quickly looked through her files once again to see if everything was indeed in order before putting the lock on again.

She might be a bit paranoid. Just a bit.

When she ran a big event such as this one, she had to keep double-checking to make sure everything was still fine and nobody had done something that would screw things up.

Alright.

She turned around and looked in the direction in which she had seen G disappear.

Something had seemed off, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

Then, suddenly, she realized what had been different from before.

His pupils had been dilated quite heavily and his lips had been swollen. Actually, he had had the whole 'just-kissed-the-life-out-of-somebody'-look about him.

Pondering about this, she walked past the ladies' room and slipped inside for a moment. While entering, she passed two young women but inside the room was empty except for one occupied stall.

Rachel put down the iPad and put soap on her hands so she could wash them with the water, all the while looking in the mirror to see if she still looked presentable.

She felt as if Codori had left a thin layer of filth on her so she took some tissues, dripped some water on them and slightly washed her face to make the feeling go away.

In the end, she dried her face of and readjusted her mascara, before stepping back slightly to see if the result was alright.

It was.

With a slight nod, she picked up her iPad again and checked the time.

She had been inside for a few minutes Rachel realized, before turning around to the occupied stall. Nothing had happened since coming in and once she listened intently, she could only make out some breathing.

"Is everything alright in there?" Rachel asked the person.

Her question was answered by a slight gasp of surprise, followed by stumbling as the person inside seemed to jump up.

Some stumbling could be heard and Rachel stepped back again, almost expecting the door to burst open.

It didn't.

But Rachel did see a part of the shoes the woman inside was wearing. The wheels in her mind started turning as she went over them. She had seen them inside a while ago. Somebody she knew had been wearing them.

Suddenly, it clicked.

"Nell? Are you in there?"

And then something else clicked as well.

The stumbling inside got louder, until it suddenly stopped.

"Yes," Rachel finally got a quiet answer.

The girl sounded tired.

Rachel frowned slightly.

"Are you alright?"

Her repeated question was met by a few seconds of silence until she heard the door being unlocked.

It slowly opened, revealing the young woman in the green dress. She had evidently been sitting on the lid of the toilet seat which was still down.

Hazel eyes met dark brown when Nell finally looked up at her. She seemed unnaturally pale compared to what she had looked like earlier when they had met and her fingers were trembling slightly.

When the girl noticed that she was looking at them, she formed two tiny fists from her hands.

"Come on dear, let's get you cleaned up a little." Rachel said softly while she stepped forward and took one of the fists.

Nell's skin was cold to the touch as she allowed Rachel to take her out of the stall and she stood still in front of the mirror.

Again, Rachel took some tissues and dipped them slightly in a stream of hot water coming from the tap before turning back to the girl.

She studied her face before raising the hand to softly swipe away the tiny smudge of mascara from her cheek.

Her lips were a tiny bit rosier than they had been before.

Had she been..?

"Can I give you some advice, Nell?" Rachel asked softly as she put down the tissues and took out her own mascara so she could give it to the girl.

She had been using brown eyeliner, which Rachel didn't have so she couldn't really help her with that.

Nell sighed slightly before accepting the mascara and turning to the mirror to reapply the make-up.

"This is going to be about G, isn't it?"

Rachel smiled slightly in response and looked the girl in the eyes in the mirror.

"Yes it is."

Nell swiped the brush of mascara past her lashes, seeming to think about it for a moment before nodding in defeat.

"I have known G for a couple of years now and he would get distracted sometimes, or don't say a lot or he wouldn't show up for a while, but in the end he would always come home. And I have seen him do a lot of things, varying from playing games with my daughter to helping us when Sam is on his business trips. But there is one thing I have never heard him do, until very recently."

The girl had stopped using the mascara halfway through her words and was looking at her curiously now.

Rachel smiled knowingly and picked up her iPad again from where she had put it aside minutes ago.

"I have never heard him hum a melody, whistle a tune or even sing a song. Until recently at least. He tries to hide it but sometimes he can't help it and it just slips out."

Nell was staring at her, surprise showing in her eyes now. The mascara lay forgotten in her hand.

"So I guess what I wanted to say is that something has changed, changed him, and I am very grateful it has."

Rachel turned back to the mirror and with her finger she plucked a strand of hair and put it behind her ear.

Nell seemed baffled, but Rachel just smiled.

"Keep the mascara."

Then she turned around and left the room.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was still holding the mascara in her hand when Rachel left the room. The door closing was the sound that woke her from her thoughts and quickly she finished applying it before looking at herself again in the mirror.

She looked better.

Still a bit pale, but better.

Less rattled and more composed, in a way like Rachel who always seemed to know what was going on and managed to take everything in with elegance and grace.

Sam was a very lucky man.

She smiled slightly at the thought, still thinking it was a bit weird to imagine Sam as a husband and a father since she had known him for such a long time as the special agent he was.

And G.

Nell sighed and walked towards the door to leave the room as well.

Rachel wouldn't be the one to lie about this.

A feeling of warmth settled over her with these thoughts as she stepped outside again.

"Nell!"

Her name was shouted almost immediately and she almost jumped at the sudden sound.

But it wasn't G.

Eric was walking towards her, a huge smile on his face and two glasses of champagne in his hands. Once he reached her, he presented her the first glass while holding the second a bit closer to him.

Nell shook her head in answer.

"No, I think I am going to drink something else."

She didn't feel like drinking more of the champagne, after what had happened.

Eric nodded and together they walked back towards the crowd of guests.

When a waiter passed, Eric swapped the champagne for some water and handed her the glass instead.

She smiled thankfully and they toasted.

"So, where did you disappear off to?" Eric inquired before taking another gulp of his glass, effectively emptying it.

Well he seemed to be quite chipper.

Nell raised her own glass to her lips before answering his question.

"I just had a look at some paintings. Some of them look quite intriguing.." she said. And it was almost the truth.

Eric easily accepted her lie before flashing down another waiter. This time he took a drink of an unusual purple colour.

Nell didn't know what it was, but it must be something alcoholic.

Eric swallowed it in one go before grinning broadly at her.

Nell slowly raised her eyebrows at him, questioning him silently.

"These are amazing!" He just said happily.

Oh dear.

"Eric, how many have you had of those?" she asked.

A look of confusion showed in his eyes, but instead of answering her question, he waved at something behind her.

"Hey guys!"

Nell glanced over her shoulder to see Kensi and Deeks. Dancing. Kensi and Deeks were dancing.

Apparently, Kensi had caved and now they were standing quite closely as they swayed to the music.

With Eric's greeting, they jumped apart as if they had been hit by a lightning and neither would look the other in the eye.

"Eric, Nell" Kensi greeted them through clenched teeth.

Deeks was the first to recover and he slung an arm over Eric's shoulder before they walked away together as Nell heard them say something about getting more drinks.

The girls were left alone and Nell turned towards Kensi, who seemed to be slightly uncomfortable.

"There is no way you are drunk enough to forget this, is there?" Kensi tried.

A grin appeared on Nell's face, forgetting all about her own problems, before she shook her head.

"The drunk one left already. I have no idea what's in those purple drinks, but he must have had quite a few already because he was already halfway gone."

Kensi nodded and she took a glass of wine from one of the passing waters.

They both drank from their glasses while Kensi kept looking over Nell's story to see something behind her.

Nell followed her gaze to where Eric and Deeks were standing at the buffet, talking and laughing while they were each curing another glass in their hands and looking for something to snack.

Nell turned back to the female agent and grinned slightly.

"So, how did he convince you?"

Kensi blinked at the sudden question before looking back at the analyst.

"I was talking with a couple when he showed up and somehow convinced them we were together, before making up some story that I wouldn't dance with him. They felt sorry for him, I don't know _why_, so I was kind of forced to dance with him."

She seemed to grovel slightly with the confession, but Nell could still see the smile in her eyes.

"You like to make him work for it, don't you?" Nell said softly. She hadn't really thought about it only when the words left her mouth did she realize this could offend Kensi, but she simply shrugged in response.

"Deeks will always keep flirting, but I never know if he is serious or not."

Nell was quiet with those words.

It almost seemed as if Kensi showed a more vulnerable side of herself, but she wasn't sure.

It was strange for Nell to think that Kensi, Kensi of all people, could in any way be insecure about herself. She was this amazingly strong and beautiful woman who had done something with her life.

Every man in the room had at least once looked in her direction.

The burgundy dress she was wearing did her justice in every way.

Nell sighed lightly and drank the last water from her glass.

"How about we go and make sure those men aren't making a mess of everything?"

Kensi flashed a grin and together they walked to the buffet, joining Eric and Deeks.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Time flies when you are with your friends.

That's true.

Nell spent the rest of her evening with Kensi, Deeks and Eric having fun, eating and dancing. The other three drank more and more wine as Nell kept drinking water even if one or twice Deeks sneakily tried to hand her a glass of white wine.

They were joined by Sam and Rachel on different occasions, but Nell never had to face G.

He kept to himself, only talking to the others when they strayed in his direction or wandering around and looking at the paintings.

At first it annoyed Nell, but as time passed the thoughts of G faded to the back of her head.

After a couple of hours, it seemed to be enough.

Eric and Deeks had taken to making jokes nobody could hear since they whispered to each other and Kensi was asked to dance by numerous guys.

Nell noticed how once in a while, Deeks would flash an angry stare towards her and the other man while they were dancing, but once she came back to them he was all happy and joking again.

When Eric was starting to slur his words, Nell decided it had been enough.

"Come on Eric, let's go." She said softly.

Big, green eyes turned to her and he seemed to frown for a second as if he couldn't see her correctly.

"But I don't wanna go.." He whined, before pouting immensely at her.

Nell didn't even blink and softly put a hand on his arm.

"Yes, you do. You are going to go home and have a good, long night in your own bed. And then you will wake up and you can go surfing."

Deeks seemed to perk up at the word surfing and he immediately jumped into a surfing stance. He turned his body, spread his feet and held his hands as if he was trying to keep his balance on a surfboard.

Eric saw what he was doing and immediately copied the movements.

The two of them were attracting quite the attention. Deeks didn't care and Eric was just too drunk to realize. Otherwise he would have been feeling quite uneasy.

Kensi was standing next to Nell, laughing at the way the two guys were behaving.

Deeks only winked at her before swaying his arms around some more.

"Now we just need the sun and the girls in bikinis. That would totally make my day!"

Nell laughed as they were joined by Sam, who was frowning slightly at the two other men and their behavior.

"You look ridiculous." He stated, simple and direct.

It only made Nell and Kensi laugh louder.

The broad-shouldered man grinned.

It took them a few minutes to find their way outside.

Everybody said goodbye to Rachel, thanking her for everything she had done and making promises to meet each other again.

Nell slightly hugged the older woman, having the feeling she had found a new friend in her.

Rachel just winked at her, before leaning against her tall husband who put an arm around her waist.

The quartet was making their way to the exit when Nell looked back once and saw G who was saying goodbye to the couple.

She quickly got her coat and soon they were standing on the sidewalk. Deeks was jumping up and down and finally managed to hail a cab.

"After you." He opened the door and held it open for Nell to get in. He was bowing until his chin touched his knees and Nell laughed again.

She quickly hugged Kensi to say goodbye, before doing the same to Deeks.

He pulled her into a bear hug and she squealed until he let her go.

"Goodnight Nell."

"Goodnight Marty."

She smiled up at him one last time before getting into the cab. Eric had already gotten in and was waiting for her.

The door was closed by Deeks and the cab took off in the direction of Eric's apartment.

Good choice.

She wanted to make sure he would get home safely.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G was just stepping outside when he saw Nell and Eric get into a cab and take off.

For a moment, he stood still as he watched how the cab disappeared around the corner.

She had been avoiding him all evening.

He had thought it not to be possible, but she had somehow managed to do so. She would disappear to the bathroom, need something to drink or want a small bite from the buffet.

And every time she would just be gone.

He sighed and shook his head, before hailing a cab himself.

He saw Kensi and Deeks and he lifted his hand in a short goodbye before getting in the cab.

He had somewhere to be.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell had been home for a few minutes.

She had brought Eric home, made sure he got inside and on his bed where he had quickly fallen asleep. She had left him there and gotten back into the cab she had asked to wait for her.

Home, she had quickly taken of the shoes and for a second she relished the feeling of walking around barefooted.

Her calves were hurting slightly from walking around on them all day.

She walked through the living room into the small kitchen, where she put the boiler on for some water. She felt like having some tea and maybe..

For a moment Nell rummaged through the fridge until she pulled out some homemade chocolate mousse.

Humming, she took a spoon from the drawer and stole a tiny bite until the water was boiling and she filled a cup with a tea bag for some herbal tea. With the tea in one hand and the mousse in the other, Nell went back to the living room where she settled on the couch, feet propped up underneath her.

With the remote control, she turned on the television and she flipped through the channels until she found one where they constantly played jazz music with videos from when they had been made.

She smiled slightly when she recognized a very happy Louis Prima singing Just a Gigolo.

Nell ate from the mousse and waited for the tea to cool off as she watched the video, a smile on her lips.

He was always so happy, jumping around and actually entertaining the public.

"'_cause I ain't got nobody.  
Nobody cares for me. Just, nobody cares for me." _

Nell smiled sadly.

It was quite ironic how the song was quite happy while the chorus was in its own way quite sad.

The song came to an end and another one began, but her peace and quiet was interrupted.

The bell rang.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G wasn't the person to feel nervous about something.

He did now though.

He wasn't sure what it was had made him come here in the middle of the night anyway, but he was here now.

And the cab had left.

He looked back to the street for a moment to make sure of it.

Yes, the yellow car had disappeared from where it had parked to let him out.

He sighed and turned back to the door, before finally ringing the doorbell.

From inside, he could hear some kind of music. He wasn't even surprised; Nell seemed to love music and was always listening to something.

He heard some stumbling inside until it was silent again.

G could see the small hole in the door through which she was probably looking right now. There was no way in saying whether she would even open the door.

But she did.

The door slid open a few inches and he could see she still had the dead bolt on it.

Her hazel eyes looked at him from behind the door, piercing right through her.

"Can we talk?" he asked, simple and direct.

He saw the doubt in her eyes and sighed.

"We need to talk Nell. Please?"

The door closed with a slam and he heard her taking off the dead bolt before opening the door again.

"Come in"

He complied and stepped inside the hallway as she closed the door again behind him. He turned around to face her and saw she was holding a gun in her hand.

His eyebrows slowly rose when he saw the big weapon in her small hands. When she followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at, she stepped sideways and put it on the table next to the door.

"It doesn't happen every night somebody rings at my door." She said simply before walking inside the living room.

G followed her, his eyes taking in her figure.

She had taken off the shoes and seemed to be smaller. But without the shoes she looked natural, as if she was some mythical creature that lived in the forest.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you."

She stopped and turned around to look him dead in the eye, an expecting look in her eyes.

Alright.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G was standing in the middle of her living room and he couldn't have been more out of place.

He was still wearing his tux, but he had opened the top buttons which made him look a bit more laidback.

For a moment, he looked around the room before settling on her once again.

His blue eyes met hers across the room which was only lighted by a small lamp next to the couch and the television that was still on. She had only muted it when she had heard the doorbell.

"Nell, about that kiss-"

He seemed uneasy and she felt something break.

"No, it's alright. It was a mistake, I get it." She interrupted him, not even thinking before she said those words.

It came automatic after she had been telling herself for weeks that he would never be interested in a girl like her.

But he shook his head at her words, before taking a step closer to her.

"No, it wasn't. At least, for me it wasn't. Was it a mistake for you?"

The question threw her and she looked at him in surprise. A mistake for her?

She mulled over it for a second until she realized that she had only thought it to be a mistake because she had felt ashamed afterwards.

She looked back up at him, only to see he had stepped closer once again.

"Because I distinctly remember you saying something like thinking about kissing me"

Nell felt her cheeks flash red at that memory.

Had she really said that?

"And I have a confession to make myself."

A strong hand came up to cup her face as the other hand slid around her waist and gently pulled her closer against him.

He leaned in and her breath hitched when she realized how close he was now. She faintly smelt his cologne and all the negative thoughts about herself left her.

"What?" she managed to whisper.

"I can't stop thinking about kissing you either. Because you are this strong and independent, beautiful woman and every time we are alone, I want to kiss you."

Sudden confidence made her feel as if she was flying.

"Stop fighting it then. Kiss me."

For a moment he searched her eyes before doing exactly that.

For the third time that evening, their lips met in a kiss. Only this time, it was very different.

He kissed her slowly, this time not barging in and letting him lead by desire. His lips were a soft touch and it remained that way until she relaxed into him.

It seemed he had been waiting for that moment, because he softly started to apply a little more pressure.

He faintly tasted of whiskey.

Her hands came up and she locked her fingers behind his neck while she slightly raised herself on her toes to meet his height a bit better.

His lips were warm and soft when they coaxed hers apart and he deepened the kiss.

Nell let herself be swept away as they kissed.

His grip on her tightened as he pulled her tighter against him and one of her fingers went through his very short hair.

She was barely standing on her own toes now as his tongue found hers and she felt a sensation built up in her toes before slowly spreading through her whole body.

Her heart was beating rapidly when a soft moan escaped her lips once again.

This seemed to draw his attention and for a moment their kiss was broken.

His eyes found hers and she noticed how his blue irises had turned into thin lines of blue around his dilated pupils.

But this time, they weren't interrupted by anyone and she didn't run away from him.

His arms lifted her with ease and the next moment he had sat down on the couch and was holding her on his lap. She was facing him, but his legs were too broad for her knees to actually touch the fabric of the couch.

Warm hands came to lie on her hips and his fingers slightly rubbed over the green fabric. Her skin underneath tingled.

This time it was Nell who closed the gap and kissed G. He immediately parted his lips and deepened the kiss.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

She tasted like chocolate.

Like chocolate and everything else that was good and sweet.

And she was kissing him, deeply at that, and there was no way she was going to run away from him this time.

One of his hands moved to her bare back and he used it to pressure her against him while softly caressing the skin he had found there.

His other hand slid down slightly and landed on her leg again, which was even more uncovered than before because the skirt of the dress had ridden up slightly due to her position.

It all caused her to shift her weight and a sudden jolt of fierce desire shot through him when he felt her settle again.

Oh god.

He broke the kiss and puller her against him, pressing his lips against her neck before closing his eyes for a moment.

Nell had frozen for the slightest second, either noticing the hardening or surprised by the fact he broke the kiss.

Or both.

But she didn't say anything and he shifted her until he was holding her in his arms and they were sitting both comfortably.

He was not going to sleep with her tonight. He wouldn't. She deserved better and he would give her better.

It was quiet for a moment until Nell broke the silence.

"What now?"

He looked down at her and raised a hand to stroke her cheek.

"Can we risk this?" she asked.

His hand stopped and he sighed.

"Haven't we already?"

She seemed to think about it, before agreeing.

"Yes, we have."

G bent down and his lips touched her in the softest of kisses.

"I want this." He finally said.

"I want you." This had been his deepest desire for the past weeks and now it was this close, he was not going to stop.

Before she could say anything, he spoke again.

"Before we do anything or decide anything, how about I take you out on a real date. Tomorrow night. We'll go eat somewhere and do something nice."

"Like a test-run?"

"You could look at it like that. A test-run; to see if it works."

Nell looked at him before suddenly smiling.

"I want this too. Let's just go out on a first date and we'll see where things will go from there."

A first official date, he could live with that.

And he would do his damned best to make it the best first date she would ever go on.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_So, there it is! Another chapter! Please leave a review and until next time! _


	16. Chapter 16: High-end Fashion

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **So, here is another chapter! There is no date in here, yet, as it is more a take on the morning-after but I didn't want to disappoint you which is why there are two chapters this time. (Double chapter, double review? Please?) And thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter!

And from now on I am going to answer reviews individually and not in the beginning of the chapter. This is because the last chapter got me 18 reviews (18!) and with so many reviews it is going to take too long in the chapter itself. (18! A record!)

So on with the chapter and I hope you will enjoy it. And maybe we get to break the record again? (Double chapter, double reviews? :P)

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

It was early next morning when Nell woke up. Slowly, her mind blurred back to consciousness, only for her to realize she was lying on something warm and hard which was quite comfortable, but not as much as her own bed could be.

A slight frown appeared on her face, crunching her brow together in thought as she tried to figure out what she was lying on without necessarily having to open her eyes. They felt as if they were glued shut from sleep, but in the end she dragged her hand up to her face and with her fingers, she rubbed away the sleep from her eyes.

Finally feeling well enough to open her eyes, Nell lifted her head slightly so she could look up and around, finally taking in where exactly she was. And, more importantly, on top of whom exactly she was sprawled out upon.

G Callen was lying on her couch, which was a mere inch too short to support his full length as somewhere during the night, G had shifted so he would lie on his back with her on top of him. Nell could feel how their legs were tangled, but when she tried to move again, he shifted underneath her and she froze.

Something poked her in the thigh and the overly used, cheeky comment of "Is that your gun, or are you just happy to see me?" popped into her head. Nell couldn't help it.

She giggled.

When she realized she did, her hand flew to her mouth and she covered it to quiet herself. It didn't help as another, softer giggle escaped her throat which caused G to shift again.

This second time, Nell managed to stay quiet and slowly, she started to untangle herself from his tall body. It was quite the work, as she had to twist her legs so she could slip them out from between his without giving him a kick and thusly waking him.

After a few seconds of struggle, Nell had managed to free her legs but was now faced with a bigger problem. If she would shift her weight to make a move to sit up, she would surely wake G from his sleep. That was one thing she didn't want to happen.

Her gaze shifted to his handsome face that was completely relaxed for this one time and a tiny smile appeared on her face. He was still sleeping and she would have to make sure to 'escape' without waking him. So, how was she going to do this?

For a few seconds, Nell settled back while she tried to think of a plan. In the meantime, one of G's arms slid up and around her waist, pulling her closely against him once more and she felt a burst of delight at him doing so. Another burst followed the first one when she thought of the date they were going on that evening, followed by a rush of excitement.

Her body tensed, followed by his in reaction. Nell froze when she felt the muscles in his body harden and looked up at G's face again. He wasn't sleeping as deeply as before and he would soon wake up.

If he would, she thought, she didn't need to move and could just wait.

Pleased, Nell laid her head back on G's chest where she could hear his heartbeat softly through the layer of skin and clothing. A smile lifted her face once again.

She hadn't felt this happy in weeks, ever since she started beating herself done over all her insecurities. Now G, the person she had thought would never see her as more than a colleague or a friend, had come and changed that.

Well, had started changing that. She still had a tiny voice telling her that somewhere in the future, G would realize how boring she was and go for somebody else. She pushed the thought away, forcing herself to think about something else. They still had the first date to go on and who knew, it might turn out to be disastrous.

Nell puffed slightly in disagreement. It wouldn't.

Her eyes opened again and she let her gaze drift through the room. The television had been turned off sometime during the night, as the screen was black. From behind them, sunlight came streaming in through one of the big windows and Nell managed to make out her silhouette and even some outlining of her face in the black screen.

With a jolt, she realized her mascara had left dark circles underneath her eyes. She looked like a zombie.

She looked up at G again; who thank the gods was still sleeping. She had to go and get a shower, quickly, before he saw her like this.

It was all very logical.

Yes, he had said she was beautiful the evening before. Twice even, but she wasn't going to let him see her with this runny mascara on her face the first time the sun was shining after what had happened.

No way.

This meant Nell had to make her escape, and quickly.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G was slowly waking up because of all the movement he felt. He automatically moved his arms to get the person back pressed up against him, not wanting the warm body to disappear. His move was answered by an annoyed huff that sounded very, _very _familiar.

The more he was waking up, the better he smelt the fragrance of pomegranate that was surrounding him. But as it grew stronger, the more he woke up, it also started to grow weaker.

Suddenly, the warmth surrounding him was gone and his body felt as if somebody had pulled away his duvet while he had been enjoying some sleep.

But then he heard a thump, followed by a curse before soft footsteps carried away from him.

Slowly, G cracked open an eye to take in his surroundings. He was lying on the couch in Nell's living room and he was alone. Nell must have just slipped out and it was only a few seconds later when he heard the sound of a shower starting.

He let his head fall back against the cushion and closed his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand as he thought back to what had happened. He had gone to her house not sure what exactly he would say and not knowing how everything was going to turn out, but it had all changed into this.

After making the decision for the date, they had talked some more with the music in the background and he had kissed her senseless once more before she had started to fall asleep with her head tucked under his chin. He hadn't dared move her so in the end he had shifted his position so he could stretch out a little with the young woman still lying on top of him. And after she had fallen asleep, it hadn't taken him that long until he had followed her.

And now he was here, alone on the couch as she was taking a shower. G stretched himself before sitting upright. His shoes had ended up in a heap next to the couch as he had made the simple move of sliding them off his feet before making himself comfortable. Somewhere during their evening, Nell's quick fingers had moved to slip the heavy, black fabric of his shoulder so he was left in the white shirt he had been wearing underneath. Now, he didn't feel the need to put it back on as he stood up and looked around for a moment.

The living room was decorated in soft earthy colors consisting mostly of green, orange and brown. It was quite calming and he could see Nell living in this room quite well. It had certain elegance to it while at the same time looking very comfortable and cozy. It fit her perfectly.

G looked behind him where a big window was letting in the first light of the sun and he walked passed it. Bathing in the light was a table with four chairs that was probably used for dining; only now Nell had all different kind of things mixed up on it. G could see some magazines about travelling and, funnily, a magazine about dogs.

G couldn't suppress a grin as he flipped it to the first page and was greeted by a huge picture with running Bernese Mountain pups. He shook his head slightly and looked around curiously. What else had she lying around here? At the other side, he found a tin can that was filled with peppermints and he took one before moving on from the table.

In the wall behind it, there was a big, open hatch through which he could see the kitchen. Slipping through a doorless door post, G found the hallway and slipped into the kitchen. He was greeted by soft green walls and white and grey furniture.

But he also found a water boiler, so he put the kettle on so he could make himself some tea as he waited for Nell to return from her shower, forcing himself not to think about the part that she actually _was_ in the shower.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

In the shower, Nell washed her hair thoroughly before rinsing out the shampoo. She used her extremely foamy soap to completely wash herself and in the end she closed her eyes to let the warm water hit her face.

For a moment, she stood like that; squinting her eyes shut against the water before bringing up her hands and rubbing her face a few times to clean it. When she brought away her hands, she could see some of the black lines of her mascara left on her skin.

When it read waterproof, it apparently really wasn't as water resistant as the manufacturer thought.

She shook her head and got out of the shower, wrapping her hair in a towel to stop it from dripping before unwrapping at again and putting it around her body to dry her skin as well.

A shiver ran down her spine when a drop of water ran down and she could feel it in the fresh air of the bathroom. In the end, she wrapped herself in the towel, covering her breasts but leaving her shoulders bare. A quick look in the mirror showed her that her face was clean so she could go to her room and get dressed.

With a quick move, Nell opened the window in the bath room to let in some fresh air and she shivered again when the cool morning-air swept in.

Damn it was cold.

Nell snuck to the door and opened it so she could have a look in the hallway, but it was empty. She could hear G going through the kitchen down the hall, probably looking for something to eat or to drink. She would have to get dressed quickly and then she could go down and help him with it.

She opened the door completely and the silence in the hall was interrupted by a long, high-pitched creak. Nell froze for a second, holding the door and effectively stopping the noise. G had stopped doing things in the kitchen and then she heard footsteps.

She started moving again and slipped through the door into the hall. She only had to walk to the end of it where a small slight of stairs would bring her up to her bedroom. But she had no such luck. She didn't even have the time to turn around and take a first step when G appeared through the door of the kitchen, frowning slightly. When he saw her, the frown disappeared as he took in her form that was only clad in a towel.

For a second, they both stood still as Nell didn't know what to do and G's eyes slowly slid up to find her eyes, before his lips curled into a grin.

"Good morning Nell."

"Good morning G."

Her heart was beating in her throat as she quickly turned around and disappeared up the stairs to get dressed.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G watched as Nell all but ran up the stairs, his eyes still strained on her petite form that had only been hidden by one lousy towel. He shook his head as he poured himself a cup of tea from the pot he had made and held it in his hands to warm his fingertips while he waited for Nell to return.

She generally seemed to be a bit insecure about herself. He had already noticed that the evening before and it was hard to understand why she felt that way.

Pondering, he took a first sip of his tea that was still quite hot. G cursed softly when he almost burned his lips before adding a splash of cold water to the hot substance. It immediately cooled down just enough for him to have another trying sip, only to find it was bearable now and he was satisfied.

The silence in the kitchen was interrupted by stumbling and he turned around, still the cup in his hands, when Nell appeared in the door opening.

Wearing clothes.

"Hmm, and I thought that walking around dressed in towels was going to be the new fashion." He grinned at her while putting down the cup.

Nell blushed a fierce red as she played with the edge of the loose, dark yellow top she was wearing. Underneath, she was wearing black jeans and her bare feet were showing as she hadn't put on any socks or shoes.

She seemed to think for a second about a retort, but settled with silence and she moved to pick up a tiny remote control. Expertly she pressed a couple of buttons and suddenly the kitchen was filled with soft murmur he recognized as somebody reading the news. They were just finishing up with the weather and traffic reports before going back to relaxing music.

"Nell." G took the remote from her hand and he brought up his fingers to her chin to tilt her head backwards slightly so she would look him in the eye.

For a moment, he searched the hazel depths that were staring back at him, trying to find the right words he could say to get her to understand. In the end, he leaned in and softly pressed his lips against hers. The fingers that were still lingering on her skin moved into her still damp her and he pulled her closer against him as she kissed him back.

Instead of giving in to his desire to heat things up, he deepened the kiss albeit keeping it slow all the time. He felt her searching for entrance which he granted, tasting peppermint when their tongues collided. His hands moved down to her legs and he picked her up until she was as high as he was.

She seemed to feel what he wanted as her legs slipped around his hips and supported herself as she kept holding on to him with her small hands behind his neck.

With the petite woman in his arms he stepped forward until she could settle on the cupboard before moving his hands back up again. However, her legs stayed around his hips which he didn't mind at all as she kept holding on tightly.

Finally, a moan escaped his lips and he felt it ripple through her. He severed the connection between their lips but didn't move back to give her space. Instead, he leaned with his forehead against hers and waited until she would open her eyes. He was breathing heavily and he felt her doing the same. After a few seconds her eyes lazily slid open and he found the beautiful hazel having been pushed back by heavily dilated pupils.

A smile graced his lips as he stole another kiss from her rosy lips.

"Nell?" He softly asked.

"Hmm?"

Fingers were sliding over his chest and he found she had already unbuttoned the top two buttons. He chuckled slightly when his eyes darted down to take in this information.

This woman was going to be the death of him.

"I am going to go home. I have to do some things and one of those is arranging our date for this evening."

That seemed to get her attention as her hands stopped moving and she looked up at him again.

"I am going to pick you up tonight at seven. And no, I am not going to tell you what I have planned." He had had plenty of time to think about what he was going to do tonight, but he felt he had found something perfect. He would just have to make sure it would be possible so he had to go and make some phone calls.

He might even have to call in a favor.

She nodded in answer to his words and he made a move to step back but she surprised him by pulling him back against her and into another crashing kiss. There was no time for a slow or deep kiss as it was strong and heated.

In the end it was Nell to break off the kiss before smiling up at him innocently.

"I'll see you tonight."

It seemed actions spoke louder than words if he wanted her to feel better about herself.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_Thank you for reading and please leave a review! _


	17. Chapter 17: First Date

**Title **: Cure for the soul.  
**By : **GirlOfSpring  
**Pairing : **Nell/Callen  
**Summary**: It all started with a certain intelligence analyst who needed her music and a certain special agent who was disturbed by the noise. A Nallen story**  
Disclaimer : **Don't own, don't own, don't own. **  
Note: **And here is the second chapter as I promise. Yay, two chapters in a row, how exciting so enjoy them and please leave a review! And this is the first time I write anything like this chapter so I would love to hear what you think.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell in the end gave herself the day off. She read a book, did some cleaning and went for a walk at the beach where she just enjoyed the warm day. She did have to apply some sunscreen to make sure she wouldn't get sunburnt. It would be a shame is she couldn't enjoy the evening with G if she had burnt shoulders.

She had lunch close to the sea and enjoyed the view or read a bit more in the book she had brought with her. It was a delightful day without any stress from work where they worked on cases that sometimes just got so depressing. And she had only been working there for a few years. People like Hetty had been doing this for their whole lives.

Nell was impressed by the resilience these people must possess.

Thinking about what they all must have seen, Nell stared blankly at the blue sea until a waiter came with her soup. She looked up and thanked him before digging in with a piece of bread.

She loved soup. With plenty of vegetables it could be something delicious without costing too much. She sometimes made it herself if she had plenty of vegetables and didn't know what to do with them.

After eating, Nell walked around a bit more before returning home. G had sent her a text that he would pick her up at six and that she could expect that they would go somewhere classy.

Nell smiled, put on some music and disappeared into her room to go and find something to wear.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

It was exactly six o'clock when the doorbell rang. Nell counted to five before walking towards the door and open it. She had been waiting anxiously for the last fifteen minutes and she didn't want to seem too pushy.

G was standing on her doormat, waiting for her to open the door and he smiled when she finally did. He was dressed in a grey suit with a black shirt underneath of which the collar was a stark difference from the lighter grey. His clothing suited him well, like some of the things he would wear when he had to go undercover. He would look confident, strong and dangerous at the same time. It was exhilarating to have that all combined standing on her doormat, like a perfect package that had been delivered.

"Hello Nell."

He smiled in greeting but even though he looked every bit the confident date, she noticed a slight tension that seemed to have nestled between his shoulders. He just didn't let it seep through his behaviour as his eyes took her in.

"You look beautiful."

The directness in his compliment made her blush. She had chosen a dark blue dress that almost seemed to be black when there was no light falling on the fabric directly. It reached her knees and flowed slightly, being very soft on her skin. It was a simple dress but she didn't like things that were too extravagant. Completing the outfit she had gone for simple, black heels and a silver bracelet and earrings.

"Thanks, you look quite dashing yourself." She took her coat from the peg next to the door and before she could do anything, G had stepped forward and taken it from her hand to help her slip into it. She smiled, remembering the evening before when he had helped her taking it off. How very different things had been only 24 hours ago. It was almost unrealistic.

As he held the coat open for her, Nell slid her arms in and with a smooth movement he slid it up over her shoulders. She could feel his fingertips brushing past her skin and goose bumps appeared in the trail of his touch.

"Are you ready to go?"

Nell nodded in answer, picked up her clutch and closed the door behind her.

"So, where are we going?" she asked him as he let her go first in descending the steps to the street where a cab was waiting.

"Hmm, you will see when we get there." Nell could hear the smile in his words and she looked up at his face when he guided her to the cab with a hand close to her back, rushing to open the door for her so she could get in.

"But I do think you will like it."

That spiked her curiosity and for a moment she tried to come up with what they were going to do. She got in the car with a faint blush gracing her cheeks because he had held open the door. It was such a gentlemanly manner it was almost making her think she was dreaming all of this. Moments later he slipped in next to her through the other door and the driver took off.

"Well, we are definitely going to eat somewhere."

She noticed how he hadn't given the driver a new address so she assumed he had already told him. As she tried to sneak a peek at the GPS-system in the front of the car to still her curiosity, warm fingers brushed passed her cheek and she her head was turned so she could look at G.

An amused smile was playing on his lips.

"No sneak peeks. Let me surprise you."

For a moment they locked eyes and in the end, Nell nodded in agreement. Then she smiled and his fingers dropped back, effectively leaving her skin without the warm touch. She missed it instantly.

"No hints either?"

G laughed at her question, a delightful sound, before leaning closer towards her. But he didn't make a move to kiss her this time. Instead, he leant further until she could feel his breath on her ear. A shudder ran down her spine when she felt his slight stubble brush against her skin and she could even feel it a bit sharper when he grinned.

"I'm just a gigolo."

His words were soft as he whispered them in her ear. Then he just lingered for another second before pulling back and settling back in his seat like he had been sitting before.

Nell frowned slightly by his words, confusion being one of the strongest emotions going through her right now. What had he meant with that?

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

G leant back again and he studied her face as she slowly started looking more and more confused. But she was smart, she would figure it out quickly. He noticed how her lips were slightly parted and he could only think about kissing her again and again.

And again.

For a moment, he looked out of the window. The evening before, he had been thoroughly pissed off at Eric for going to the party with her and now she was in a cab with him to go on a date.

A date of all things.

It had been a very long time ago since he had last been on a date.

He looked sideways again and smiled when he saw how she was tapping with her fingertips against her leg while trying to think about the tip he had given her. She had a slight frown on her forehead while thinking and it even crinkled her nose slightly.

Nevertheless, she was stunning.

The frown suddenly disappeared from her face and was replaced by a look of confusion before she suddenly looked at him. He saw her cheeks tint a slight pink when she caught him staring at her, but he didn't mind.

"Well?" he asked expectantly. She seemed to have come to some kind of conclusion and he was curious to hear what she had come up with. For a moment, he saw her hesitate before she shrugged slightly.

"I ain't got nobody." She said.

G threw his head back and laughed. She had figured it out, the clever little thing.

"Very well. I think we have arrived."

They had. The cab had come to a stop next to the sidewalk and he paid the driver before getting out and walking around to open the door for Nell. However, she had already opened it so he offered her his hand, which she took before slipping a leg out and standing up. With a swift movement he closed the door behind her and the cab took off as he guided her to the doors of their destination.

It was a restaurant located in a modest street which was why it didn't attract a lot of attention from people walking past it. The restaurant was more a place you really needed a reservation to get in to and he had been quite lucky to still get a table for it being a Saturday night.

Standing in front of it, the restaurant looked as if it was very small but this was merely an illusion. The building was very narrow, yes, but some things could easily be hidden away from the eye.

"Shall we?"

Nell nodded and they walked towards the door that was delicately decorated with bronze forms and colored glass. It was opened from the inside as they neared it by a man who was smartly dressed in a suit and wore a polite expression on his face.

"Good evening Ma'am, Sir. Do you have a reservation?"

The door closed behind them as G nodded and stepped forward to the man who was looking down at his book with names.

"Yes, the name is Donnell." The man found the name within a second and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, a table for two. You can leave your coats in the coat room before going downstairs."

G nodded and turned back to Nell, who was taking in the golden carpet on the floor and the warm, brown wall. A big mirror was hanging on the wall and she seemed to study their reflection for a moment. In the meantime, the man who had been helping stepped forward and made a move to help Nell with her coat.

G immediately moved, posing himself between the man and his date and with a mere look directed in his way, the man stepped back again and G moved to once again lifted the dark fabric from her delicate shoulders before handing it to the man. As the man occupied himself with the coat, G placed his hand on the small of Nell's back and steered her towards the steps.

She was the first to descend and the lower they got, the louder the murmurs became. In the end, they reached the room and they seemed to have gone back in time.

The room was big and had several 'terraces' with tables on top of them for the guests. Everything seemed to be decorated with dark, warm colors such as red, brown and bronze. Gold seemed to be also a recurring theme and G could make out some more mirrors on the wall that had a look as if they were more than fifty years old thanks to a few black spots.

Next to him, Nell gasped in delight when she saw what every chair in the room was pointed at. A stage with cliché, red curtains was positioned to the right of the room with a black grand piano and a drum kit on it, together with some more instruments such as trumpets and a cello.

"Donnell, Sir?"

A man had appeared next to them and was looking at them expectantly. G nodded and the man motioned them to follow him. They did and he led them past the other tables, some already occupied, to one a bit more to the left of the stage and on the second row so they would have a good look at it.

They sat down and the waiter returned with two menus before taking off again.

For a second, they sat across from each other silently until Nell laughed and shook her head slightly. G looked at her questioningly and she glanced around again, smiling.

"This is amazing." She finally said.

"All of this. I can't believe this, I never heard of this place before."

G settled in his chair, the menu forgotten in his hand.

"Well, once you started falling asleep yesterday, I had plenty of time to watch some more television which gave me the idea to do this."

Nell blushed again and he grinned.

"Well, I can't help it that you are so comfortable." She huffed in the end and for a moment, he looked at her in surprise before laughing himself.

"Well, I guess that's good to know then."

She seemed slightly put out by his blunt answer and he leant forward a bit.

"I don't think a blush is really something I could pull off. I quite like it on you though.." He spoke softly, a teasing look in his eyes.

This time, Nell seemed surprised and he grinned when she hid behind the menu as she started looking for something she would like to eat. He had already decided on what he wanted with a brief glance on the menu and was waiting for her to make her decision.

When she sighed, he slowly raised an eyebrow and waited until she would say something.

"I don't know what to pick." She finally confessed.

"I quite like the idea of the penne with pesto and walnuts but the catfish sounds really good as well." She really seemed to have no idea.

"How about this: we ask for the hummus with some pita bread as a sort of appetizer. Then you just go and try the catfish and next time, we'll go to this Italian place and I'll teach you how to eat Italian. More specifically: in what order."

She looked up at his words before slowly nodding in agreement, even though she seemed to be slightly flushed about something.

What had he said?

"The next date?"

They locked eyes for a moment and in that second he saw all the wonder she must be feeling. He took her hand and softly pressed her fingers against his lips.

"Yes, the next date. If you'll have me, that is. It's all up to you."

He let go of her hand again and she slowly pulled it back to lay it on the table. The menu had been put down forgotten.

"I think I would like that." She spoke softly. At that moment, the waiter reappeared next to them with a notepad in his hands and seemingly eager to get to work.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yes. We'll share the hummus with the pita bread after which the lady will have the catfish and I would like the lemon chicken. And I think we will share a bottle of white wine." He looked at Nell to see if she was alright with that and she nodded in answer.

The waiter recommended a white wine they had from South-Africa before disappearing again, taking the menus with him.

G turned back to his date.

"So, have you ever been to this kind of restaurant before?"

Nell shook her head and looked around again, still curious at their surroundings.

"I haven't really. When I was younger, we didn't really go to restaurants because the best food we had was the food my mother could cook. My dad didn't really see the use in going to a restaurant if he could get a 'Five-Star-Meal' at home, as he would call it."

She shook her head slightly at the memory, but he still saw the tiny smile playing on her lips. She loved her parents dearly, he deduced.

"Have you?" She returned the question and he shrugged slightly.

"I have been once, a long time ago. But it was really nice and I remembered it yesterday. It all depends on the music though." He glanced to the stage where still nothing was happening.

"Yes, but how much do you know about jazz?"

"Not a lot."

He grinned and Nell laughed again.

"Well, I do know some basics. And the very famous artists like Louis Armstrong, but nothing to specifically."

Nell nodded at his words and tilted her head slightly as she studied him. Auburn hair fell sideways and the silver earrings sparkled in the soft lights.

"Well, I guess practically everybody knows Louis Armstrong. But do you know the other Louis?"

He didn't answer and instead just looked at her expectantly.

"Louis Prima. He wasn't as world-famous as Louis Amstrong, but he was quite famous."

"Prima? Was he Italian?"

"More or less. He was born in New Orleans but his family was Italian. Mostly Sicilian, if I am not mistaken. He sings some of his sings partly in Italian. But in the Jungle Book movies, he did the English voice of King Louis."

"Really?"

He was surprised to hear that. Lately, when he was at Sam's place, he would sometimes watch movies with his daughter which often resulted in movies that were typically for children. G didn't mind, because he had never really seen a lot of them when he was younger, but they had watched Jungle Book only a few weeks ago.

He thought back to the kingly orang-utan before shaking his head in amusement. It had been quite the character.

"Yes, really."

The waiter returned with the bottle of wine and he handed G a glass so he could do the first taste. He tried it and was surprised by the fresh taste it brought.

"Yes, it's nice." The waiter smiled brightly and filled both their glasses before taking off again.

G turned back to Nell and raised his glass for a toast.

"A good evening."

"A great evening." Nell agreed and their glasses touched for a second before they both had a sip, never breaking eye-contact.

G put his glass back down again but kept sliding past the glass with his fingers.

"So, what is your favourite song?"

"Oh, that really is an impossible question!" Nell protested.

G raised an eyebrow as if he was challenging him and she scoffed slightly although he never missed the twinkle in her eyes.

"It really is difficult. There are so many songs I like that it would hardly be fair to make a choice. But I do like Feeling Good when Nina Simone sings it."

"I think I know that song."

"It's really well known. I think it was written for a musical in the 30s and since then many people have covered it. But I like it when Nina Simone sings it, she has a very powerful voice."

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

Nell was surprised. She was really enjoying the evening by just sitting with G and talking about old music. She loved her old music and he really could listen.

And, of course, he was just too damn handsome for his own good.

She looked at his face and how his electric blue eyes seemed to only notice her as they talked. The stubble he practically almost wore on his cheeks just seemed to fit so well with him. She could remember the rough feeling of it against her skin and discovered that she couldn't wait until the next time she could feel it. For the last 24 hours it had almost been overwhelming to be able to be this close to him all the time without being looked upon strangely.

But mostly she just couldn't help but feel attracted to him in ways she hadn't felt ever before. It was almost unsettling how deeply she desired his touch and the feeling was only getting stronger the better they were getting to know each other.

"Look down at the stage." G said with a nod of his head to their side. She looked to the right but still nothing was happening.

"Why?" She looked back at him and he made another, small move with his head.

"There's space in front of it they normally could use for tables. Later, we are going to go down there and we are going to dance. I still think I should have gotten another dance yesterday."

Nell tilted her head before she smiled innocently at him.

"Well, maybe you could have if you hadn't just run off."

"Touché. But if I hadn't, we might not be sitting here right now."

Nell couldn't disagree with that. Him running off had been the trigger for her to go after him, which had been the reason for them to kiss. Which in turn had been the trigger-effect for all of this that was happening right now.

The waiter came back and brought them their hummus with the pita bread, which turned out to be absolutely delicious.

"So, I heard you have been listening to my CD." She casually said before taking another bite of the piece she was holding in her hands.

G frowned slightly at her question until she saw him come to a conclusion.

"Rachel."

"Yes, Rachel."

"I'll tell you, that woman knows how to meddle."

Nell laughed at his words and took another sip of wine before shrugging slightly.

"I really like her. She is really sweet and I think she makes a lovely couple with Sam. She balances him out in a way."

G nodded at her words with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well, she did tell me to go to this absolutely gorgeous woman and tell her she looked beautiful, because somebody apparently didn't think I was capable of thinking something like that."

He looked at her pointedly and Nell flushed a bright red.

"She did that?"

"Well, yes."

"Hmm, she seems to be quite perceptive."

"As it appears. Thank god Sam isn't suspecting anything yet."

Nell felt her heart drop and she merely nodded at his words before taking another sip from her wine instead of saying something. She saw a frown appear on G's face as he studied her.

"What is it?"

Well he was quite perceptive himself.

"What about the others? If this is going to keep going, what do we do?" she asked softly.

Silence followed her words and she looked down at her hands, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"Nell."

With a small sigh, she forced herself to look up at him anyway. He was like a forbidden fruit, even more forbidden now she thought about all the consequences.

"Nell.." G sighed and he took her hand again before she could pull back. His hold was firm and stubborn and after a second she gave in as his fingers rubbed calming circles over the palm of her hand.

"You are an intelligence analyst, I am a special agent. We are no partners, not in the way Sam and I or Kensi and Deeks are. Things will be different. But we won't tell anybody until we want."

She felt herself relax slightly before she moved her other hand on top of his fingers rubbing the circles. With her fingertips she slid over his skin and was surprised to discover calloused parts on his palms and fingers.

His eyes slid down to their hands and silence fell as her much tinier hands held his bigger one.

He let her fingers study his with the soft touches and Nell couldn't help but feel that this was quite intimate. He was showing a small part of himself, even if it was just his hand. But it somehow seemed a small, first step.

The moment was interrupted by sudden music, which caused her to jump and look to the stage where she could now see a whole band. A man was sitting at the piano, another had taken the cello and three others stood in a row with their trumpets proudly up in the air. They had been joined by some other musicians with other instruments to add to the diversity and they quickly started playing a mellow song that didn't need any vocals.

Nell smiled when she recognised the first notes of the song they were playing.

The murmur around them had immediately quieted down as all the guests turned to watch the music. The men with the instruments were all wearing black tuxedos and seemed to enjoy themselves while playing their music. When the musical introduction seemed to come to an end and the man with the saxophone stopped playing before starting to whistle as he walked to the middle of the stage where two microphones were stationed for the accompanying vocals. From the side of the stage two women and two men rushed forwards to stand next to each other at the second microphone and started singing.

Nell couldn't stop the smile that was showing on her face when she recognised how they were following the script from the Glenn Miller Band singing Kalamazoo.

A soft squeeze in her hand made her look back at G who was studying her instead of watching the band in front of them. She blushed slightly and squeezed back before turning around and watching again.

This was amazing.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

They sang some more songs which Nell mostly recognized until the waiter came with their dishes for the main course. They dug into the food and Nell could only enjoy the fish she had chosen, loving the whole taste of her meal. Across from her, G was eating his chicken with calm while once in a while looking up at either her or the band with the music. By the time they had finished their meals, the band went for a break and their plates were taken away.

The bottle of wine was half empty and G filled both their glasses again.

"So, what do you think?" He was holding his glass subtly in his hand as if he didn't know anything else and Nell had another sip of her own glass.

"It's incredible!" she said enthusiastically.

"The music is amazing and just the whole atmosphere here is unbelievable. I almost feel like I have gone back in time and am actually living in another era where this was normal."

She saw him smile at her words and could only gather her was pleased to hear that she was enjoying herself.

"But what do you think?"

"Well," he shrugged. "I might have found some new music I seem to enjoy."

Nell was delighted and the waiter came to ask them if they wished anything for dessert. For a moment, they looked at each other before G nodded in answer.

"I think we would. What do you have to offer?"

The waiter didn't seem to think he needed his notepad for this order as he started about their menu.

"Well, we have a wide range of ice cream but if you want something more special we also have a great tiramisu, panna cotta with caramel or strawberries, a pavlova with seasonal fruits or figs with walnuts out of the oven."

"Nell?" G looked at her with the question in her eyes. She turned to the waiter, already having made her choice.

"I would like the figs please."

The man nodded and turned to G, who seemed to think about it for a moment before also deciding on the figs and asking if they could wait a few minutes before bringing it out. The man nodded in agreement before disappearing again and Nell found herself being back with G's full attention on her.

"So, if I remember correctly, I still have a promise to keep."

"What? Oh G, no-"

But she didn't get a chance to protest. Just as the music started again, G stood and took her hand to help her up as well before walking with her down the few steps and stepping into the space that had been left open for dancing.

But nobody else had gotten the same idea and Nell felt herself blushing furiously as he gently took one of her hands with his and the other one slid to her hip. Automatically she lifted her free hand to his shoulder. He pulled her closer, effectively closing the gap between them as she was pressed up against him.

She could just feel how people were staring at them, but he didn't seem to mind ad he slowly started guiding her over the dance floor. The band had seen them coming on and started playing a soft, slowly flowing song.

"Relax Nell." She heard him whisper in her ear. It didn't really help and G's hot breath brushed her hair when he sighed.

"Close your eyes."

This she could do, so Nell closed her eyes. Her head was leaning against his shoulder as her hand that had previously been there shifted to his neck. His hand on her hip slid to her back and was used to hold her close to him as they swayed to the music.

With her eyes closed, she found herself relaxing slightly. His strong frame felt safe around her and the fact that she trusted him with anything was quite helpful. G was resting his chin on her head as she felt the skin of his neck press against her forehead.

She was all surrounded by him and the now familiar smell of him entered her nose. He was wearing some subtle cologne that, combined with his own smell, made her legs go weak. It was a good thing really that she was standing so close to him and that he was holding her against him.

They were quiet as they danced and Nell kept her eyes closed the entire time they did. Once the song started to come to an end, she opened them again and was startled to notice how many other couples had joined them. Then she looked up at G, who was now studying her face intently as if he was trying to find something.

The song ended and was replaced by something a lot quicker. For a moment, Nell was lost at what to do but G seemed to have an idea as he shifted their stance. His hand was again on her hip and he grinned at her before moving along.

Soon, she found herself twirling around the dance floor, laughing loudly and just having fun.

That man sure knew how to dance, didn't he?

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

After a few more songs they returned to their table and sat back down again just as the waiter returned with their deserts. He placed the identical plates in front of them and left again.

G looked back at Nell who had a flustered look on her face with healthily tinted cheeks and a happy twinkle in her eyes.

"I didn't know you could dance." She accused him before taking a big sip of her glass.

"It's a handy skill I have found out over the years."

He found her staring at him for a moment before she burst out in giggles. G was surprised, utterly surprised. And that was something that didn't happen a lot.

"I'm sorry. It's just.." She wiped past her eyes, mirth evident as she looked at him. "You must have had to dance with the weirdest people if you had to do this while working."

She giggled again and G found it sounded like bells. It was a delightful sound. A smile crept on his face and he picked up his fork which he pointed at her.

"Well, I have had to dance with some people. But you are quite special with the whole dancing-thing."

They laughed and dug into their deserts. The figs had been cut in quarters and were still warm from the oven although they had been placed in yoghurt. They had been baked with butter and honey and were surrounded by walnuts. It was delicious and G, being a sweet tooth, loved it.

After finishing dessert, Nell took his hand and this time it was the analyst dragging the agent back to the stage to dance some more.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

An hour and a half later, they were standing on the sidewalk again. Both were wearing coats now and they were still smiling. Together, they started walking in the direction of another street where they could hail a cab.

Nell didn't want to go home.

The food had been amazing, they had talked and laughed and danced and she didn't want the night to end. But it would.

A cab stopped and they got in. She was shivering slightly from the frisk air on her bare legs out there and she was glad to be in the warm car again. G gave her address and they took off once again, going home. The ride was passed in comfortable silence and it was over too soon for Nell. G walked her to her door, where he stood still as she opened it to enter her home.

But she didn't as she turned around instead, looking up at her date. He had his hands in the pockets of his trousers, his shoulders rolled back in a relaxed manner. The moon above them gave his eyes an unnatural color of blue.

She loved his eyes.

"Well.." She said slowly.

He raised an eyebrow at her, immediately squashing the awkwardness she was starting to feel. She was never good at this.

"Thank you." She finally said. "For everything, the whole night. It was amazing."

He smiled and stepped closer, raising a hand to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes. She hadn't even noticed it was there.

"Have a good evening Nell. I had a great time."

His hand slipped away from her face but she grabbed it again before he would get a chance to step back.

"What is this, no kiss?" she asked boldly.

He stood still and looked at her, a look of something she couldn't define in his eyes. Then, he moved closer again.

"This seems to be a recurring theme. Late at night I am standing at your door, this side or the other, and you always demand a ki-"

"Aw shut up."

Nell stepped forward and grabbed him at his jacket before pulling him down slightly and kissing him. Reaction was immediate as his arms slipped around her and he brushed his tongue past her lips. She felt a low rumble go through him as he chuckled but as she nipped him in the lower lip that soon stopped.

She felt her back hit the doorpost as he pushed her against it and a gasp found its way past her lips. It wasn't heard however as both were too concentrated on kissing the other senseless.

Feeling slightly intoxicated from the wine she had had during the night her head was soon spinning as her legs slowly turned to jelly, for the second time that evening.

They both needed air, which was the only reason why their kiss was broken. She instantly missed his lips, but they didn't restart the kiss. G was leaning against her, his breathing slightly quickened, as he brushed his nose through her hair. The movement made her relax and she finally dared to look up at his eyes.

His thoughts seemed to be far away as they just stood there but her movement brought him back to earth. They locked eyes and she saw his lips tilt slightly upwards in a gentle smile.

"I think we can call this date a success." He said softly.

Nell nodded in answer.

"Good evening Nell." He stepped away from her and with one last look at her, he left.

It had been a success alright.

**~~~|G|O|S|~~~**

_So, there is the second chapter! And I have been writing for hours on this one, it was very difficult to get started.. But once I got myself going it all just kept coming. So I would love to hear what you think of this and until next chapter! _


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